MovieChat Forums > Emelie (2016) Discussion > This made NO sense to me (SPOILERS)

This made NO sense to me (SPOILERS)

posted 8 years ago by KrissyAnnL
11 replies | jump to latest

1) How did they know anything about Anna? How did they know that the parents had never seen Anna or that Anna was supposed to babysit instead of Maggie? And whose house was Emelie sitting in front of? I assume it was Anna's? But then her mom looks out the window when she says, "Bye, Mom." The mother didn't think it was odd that there was some strange girl sitting on her front step yelling, "Bye, Mom?" Not to mention that, at this point, her teenage daughter is missing.

2) Why wouldn't you just kidnap a baby? A baby that didn't have other siblings that could foil your plan? The kid playing Christopher was adorable, but once he realized he was being kidnapped, he probably wouldn't have been as much fun. He would have started missing his parents and screaming bloody murder. The child that died was just a baby, so why kidnap an older child?

3) In 2016, who keeps a VHS tape of them having sex with their mistress? And why was it so easy to find? I assume that's something he was hiding from his wife, but Emelie was in the house for an hour and found it right away.

This isn't a question, but just a thought...I thought the "twist" was going to be that the father had molested her when she was a younger girl (like "Martyrs") and she wanted to get revenge by torturing his children. And then the video tape could have been evidence of what he did. (Plus it would explain why it was a video tape, because it was old.) And then she drugs the kids so they pass out and the parents come home and don't know anything's wrong. Mom passes out because she's had too much to drink and Emelie seduces the dad, which he's into at first, until he realizes who she is. Boom. Way better movie. Maybe a bit predictable, but at least it would make sense.

[–] dcTalker 8 years ago

Agreed 100% with every single line of this post. Your issues were a lot of my same issues. And I too thought it was a revenge plot, and that would have made a ton more sense and been much better. And I like your ending way more.

Frustrating because the build up and anticipation was great. But then when you find out her motivation, it becomes really weak and also reveals a ton of plot holes and dumb reasoning and decisions.

[–] gamer_12 8 years ago

The tape I assume was in that locked box she found in closet that also had the gun in it.

[–] sforrester-3 8 years ago

I didn't like this film but I think I can answer a couple of your points...Christopher was the age her baby would have been had he not died, she wasn't looking for any baby, she was looking for what was (in her head) her son. The tape bit I didn't get. When she was picked up at the house, the mother came to the window as the car was driving away and at that point didn't know her daughter was missing, presumably thinking she was already babysitting. As for the last bit, maybe you should get a crowd funding page going and make that film, it sounds interesting!

[–] songod-95003 8 years ago

Your first point and the point about finding the VHS tape are spot on. As for the kid I just thought she just picked the youngest as being more malleable.

The whole setup made no sense. From the flashbacks I can assume she watched the kids at the playground but from that would not have known enough to deduce who the babysitter was, or let alone who Anna was, and... the whacko boyfriend, unless he was a cop or something which we never know anything about, would have been no help so... No, nothing about how the "plan" was formulated made any sense.

I thought the VHS tape was of the husband and wife! Not sure how the mistress part was deduced other than Christopher says "Look daddy's naked" and not "Mommy and Daddy are naked".

My take mid-way was the father had done something business-wise that upset someone enough to take revenge on his family. We never learn what he does for a living but I assume something that makes good money like being a lawyer. Now that would have made sense as the wronged party would probably have access to information resources or maybe was a PI who found out about Maggie. Still does not explain the last minute switch to Anna being discovered as it was not something broadcast! Plus from what know both Emelie and the bf were crackpots. Dangerously smart, but no PI's or such things.

I also agree abducting an infant would have made more sense and more than likely been easier than the whole family complication situation.

Topping the cake off, her surviving being run over by a car, as in really run over tires and all, was improbable. Getting up and getting away impossible.

But it sets us up for a sequel!!

[–] vexata 8 years ago

The biggest problem I had was with her personality. I understand she's a disturbed person, but would someone who wants a child so bad inflict such gratuitous psychological violence on children like that? She seems like a child hater to me.

[–] ArnoNuehm 8 years ago

The daughter said. "That's not mom." When the video started.

Also I agree with everything you said. There really isn't much logic in this movie. But I enjoyed it. It did really fall apart towards the end though.

[–] angiedaylewis 8 years ago

I took the 'that's not mommy' to be denial from the little girl because she was disturbed by what she saw, rather than it literally being another woman.

[–] ukmale-93122 8 years ago

Maybe the film wasn't set in 2016, the house and cell/mobile phones were a bit old fashioned

[–] mel2000 (244) 5 years ago

Maybe the film wasn't set in 2016

Facebook plays a role in the narrative.

Since 2006, anyone who claims to be at least 13 years old has been allowed to become a registered user of Facebook
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook

So I believe the story is contemporary.

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] johnral (138) 4 years ago

These are basically good comments. But I too thought that the tape was of the husband and wife. The child said "that's not mom," but my inference was either that the mother was much younger (such that the child did not recognize her), or was wearing a costume or heavy makeup or clothing in which the child would not recognize her mother.