MovieChat Forums > Lamb (2016) Discussion > Brave, challenging, heartbreaking.

Brave, challenging, heartbreaking.


Okay, I just want to say this movie stressed me out. A lot.

It's about a 47-year-old man whose life has come apart and is feeling lost. He meets an 11-year-old girl who is neglected by her family and friends and is feeling lonely. Somehow, this movie asks us to trust these two characters together, even though the motivations are quite unclear -- the man is either unbalanced or is gently manipulating the girl; meanwhile, the girl trusts him implicitly (with some trepidation) and looks up to him as a friend, a father figure, or maybe more. There are more than a handful of cringe-y moments, and other times where we worry about how the outside world may view these characters. By the end of the film, I felt crushed for both of them and sad beyond words. The movie is brave, challenging and heartbreaking, with terrific performances (especially by the girl, played by Oona Laurence), which almost plays as a spiritual successor to Room (if all the roles were reversed). I think it's the first great film of 2016.

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Brilliantly put! I could not have said it better...thank you!

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"sad for both of them"?! WTF!!

She was a CHILD! He was a manipulative and selfish piece of s**t! Save your sadness for her. He behaved appallingly!

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My God, it's full of stars!

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Well said; I felt the same way about the movie. The film is stuck in my head, well after I've seen it, which is the sign of a good movie, to me.

I also look forward to seeing Oona Laurence grow as an actress as she gets older. I thought her performance in "Lamb" was very, very good. Hopefully she will be just as good, or better, 5, 10, 15, etc., years from now.

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I thought it very sad, due to subtle comments David makes throughout the film - "You won't have to worry about that," (his being caught) or words to that effect - indicators of his intention, I think from the beginning, to commit suicide. He tells Tommie he'll "be with her" via nature. That statement sealed the deal for me, though I hadn't much doubted his plan to that point, in any case.

I believe his taking Tommie to show her that life can be better than the one she was on her way to living was his final redemption, probably for having failed to save his brother. If there was manipulation and coercion on his part, it was necessary to achieve his goal, and not performed for his own satisfaction. What he didn't foresee was Tommie's developing a crush on him, which will for perhaps quite some time, until she matures and her perspective changes, cloud the insight he tried to give her.

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