Sophie Traub was fantastic as Lori

Sophie Traub has a heck of future as an actress. She was tremendous in this film. She was sweet and vulnerable and in other scenes could be cruel and dismissive. When she was on screen she was totally captivating. It's the best performance I've seen from a young actress in a long time.

Her scene in the boat in the end was absolutely heart wrenching. I felt real pain for that girl. Her reactions when she realized that Eric possessed the same perversions that she's been subjected to her whole life was fully realized and emotional. I, for one, felt that Sophie was completely convincing as a tortured, troubled young girl that was disconnected from the world.

It's kind of shocking to me that this movie is rated as low as it is. After reading around I get the impression that the subject matter didn't connect with people. People can't understand the character motivations and the decisions they make. In my opinion, it's because these are psychologically damaged people and the fact that they make puzzling decisions is exactly the point. It seems to me like the critics are looking for how they would react vs how these characters would react.

I gave the movie a 7/10. It would have been higher but I wasn't a big fan of Russell Crowe's character. Many of his scenes seemed seemed more like movie scenarios rather than real life. The cop briefing at the restaurant, just missing the kids while walking into the diner, the long talk with Lori in the back of the car etc. Just seemed Hollywood and didn't fit the tone of the rest of the movie.