MovieChat Forums > The Girl in the Book (2015) Discussion > Worst Father Ever?!

Worst Father Ever?!

posted 8 years ago by lalaw08
8 replies | jump to latest

I'm wondering something here- did her dad know what Millan was doing to her, and decide to ignore it, or was he really just that clueless?
I tend to lean towards the former- Alice came from a creative family in a large city. They were not sheltered, oblivious people.
I think that in artistic environments, where other social norms are deviated from, sometimes unusual sexual or romantic relationships are more tolerated. Romantic drama is often inspiration and material for artistic work.

So as I watched this film, I started to wonder if Alice's dad sensed something between her and Millan, but he made room for it for her "creative development" or something.

Her mother seemed legitimately unplugged and inattentive, which I think was why she eventually told mom instead of dad.
It's just so sad because daughters should feel protected by fathers, not pimped out by them.
What did you take from it?

[–] mahou_fancy_lala 8 years ago

I mean, Alice told her mother, and her mother told her father. So the parents knew - they just explained it away as Alice was basically lying. So yeah, they're horrible parents who likely chose to be ignorant than face the truth. They sided with a practical stranger over their own daughter. No wonder Alice grew up the way she did - and why she spiraled like that when Milan returned.

[–] lalaw08 8 years ago

No no no, I mean before she told. There was a scene where Alice was visibly disappointed at her father's reaction when she told him that she was meeting with Millan. Dad was enthusiastic about it and Alice looked like "wtf!"

Her parents knew about the meetings long before she spoke up- and I just find it hard to believe any parent is okay with their adolescent daughter meeting in private with a middle-aged man.

Obviously their reaction to her confession was abominable- it's easy to assume they were in denial. But I wonder if it was more than that- like they believed her but though it was no big deal.

[–] noveltylibrary 8 years ago

I think any girl would wonder why her father wasn't the least bit concerned or curious that an oldish man was spending secret afternoons with her, but he only reacted excitedly because of the great talent's wing she was lucky enough to be under for writing.

[–] IvyTempleton 8 years ago

I think this is it. They were more focused on the amazing opportunity.

[–] Clemencedane 8 years ago

I think her father was in denial all along. Or willfully blind. He just wouldn't see his daughter as someone in need of protection. Maybe at some level he knew something was off, but his denial mechanism somehow rationalized it into a "mentorship."

[–] orangeandyellow2 8 years ago

i was pretty shocked when the father found out that the older man was spending time with her and did not seem to suspect anything. i guess the fact that she was 14 might have been an mental obstacle for him since there was such a large age gap and he probably still thought of her as a little girl.

i have to say that when i was 14 if one of my father's friends had even come near my bedroom i would have been scarred for life. i guess i was pretty sheltered.

[–] Smdng 8 years ago

You can see what kind of father he is just by the way he orders food for everyone at dinner. He orders what he wants to eat/try and basically ignores anyone elses desire. You can see this by how he just eats around the table from other peoples plates with zero regard. He is a narcissist in the purest form and that scene in itself sets up what to expect from that character.

[–] Smdng 8 years ago

Sorry, I pressed submit before finishing. He regards his friend as a great literary mind with vast connections and see's it as more benifical for him that his daughter can help him cultivate his own relationship with the man further. Basically, the thought process is, give the man what he wants and in return he will help me succeed because he now owes me one.