The Tale (2018)

“I’m the hero of this story, NOT the victim. They fell apart, I didn’t.” – Jenny at 13

Number of Times Seen – 1 (13 Jan 2019)

Brief Synopsis – A documentarian dives into her path to try and uncover what happened when she was a teenager.

My Take on it – This is such a powerful film that I wasn’t expecting to be as gripped by iut as I was.

I think a lot of that has to do with the amazing performance by Laura Dern in the lead role because she allows the viewer to get a clear picture of how her past has affected her both physically and mentally.

Some of the shots of this film are just of her face and we know exactly what she was suppose to be feeling in each and every one of them.

This is a film that is based on the real experiences of Jennifer Fox, a documentarian filmmaker who began to explore her own past while making a film on child rape in Africa.

This film has the viewer ask the age old question as to whether it is possible to go into our own memories to discover events and actions that may have affected us in a particular way and use them to help change the ripple effects on the present.

Dern makes us feel the trauma felt by her character as she explores her own past and her own memories in order to try and find an answer.

They do a great job here by having the character interact and debate with her younger self in an attempt to understand things more clearly.

This helps make the story that much more impactful.

This movie deals with some very heavy and graphic themes but they do so in a very delicate manner which allows the viewer to get the chilling sense of outrage as to what had transpired while still looking for a way to move on afterwards despite the obvious pain.

Bottom Line – Very powerful film that tries to answer a question about what affects us in life and how do we make changes. Dern is superb in the lead here and we can really feel the trauma that her character believes she has endured and want her to find a way to overcome the memories of her past. The way that they have the character interact with her younger self is great and it is able to show how people can possibly debate with the younger versions of themselves in order to get a better understanding of what transpired in their life. The themes dealt with in this film are very graphic yet they deal with it very delicately while still allowing the viewer to get a chilling sense of the things that transpired. Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – This film is based on writer & director Jennifer Fox’s own experience. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy (9/10)