Stockholm, Pennsylvania (2015)

Thanks for the memories!

good back-story, and good acting

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Leia (Saoirse Ronan) was abducted by stranger Benjamin McKay (Jason Isaacs) at the age of four. She lived in the basement believing the world had ended. After 17 years of isolation, she is reunited with her birth parents (Cynthia Nixon, David Warshofsky). She struggles to acclimate to them who are essentially strangers and even her real name Leanne. Her mother can't leave her by herself and is desperate to connect to her. The marriage is falling apart. Dr. Andrews (Rosalind Chao) is Leia's therapist.Director Nikole Beckwith strips away any flash or music. The colors are washed out. It is deliberately quiet at times. It leaves the movie feeling dead for the first half. Saoirse is able to maintain interest by her sheer presence. Leia takes a turn around the midpoint. It's a big risk and it becomes bursts of overwrought awkwardness. She needs a connection outside of the situation. The obvious comparison is Room which is more cinematic and has more "life". This is trying to walk down the same path but not as scenic. The two women produce a compelling battle but I'm not sure if it's worthwhile.

expectation is really a trap. you either meet it, exceed it, or get something far lower than it. well, I had expectation on this movie. first, because Saoirse Ronan is one of my favorite actresses. I watched her in "The Lovely Bones" and after that movie, I always see her as someone who's mysterious. second, I watched "Room" before this, and I heard this movie has similar plot with it, so I tried. I liked Room, good enough for me. so I thought maybe this time it'll be even better.but, what a shame. this movie couldn't meet my expectation. nice story, but poor way of presenting it. I was anticipating "something" to happen the entire movie but a few minutes left before it ended, nothing happened. and I was sad because I didn't get whatever it was I was hoping to get.the whole time, it felt like the movie didn't go anywhere. it made me questioning, what was actually the story here? Leia (or Leanne)'s life when she was with Ben? or her recovery? she didn't recover or anything, yet there was also nothing clear about her life when she was with Ben. only a few cuts, but still couldn't depict what actually happened in the "basement". I couldn't even grasp what was happening between her and her biological mom. it was like the movie was actually longer than it is now, but they cut it into cuts for whatever reason it is. not gonna recommend this to people, but I'd give 4 out of 10 for at least captivating me with the fresh story-line.

Pros: The movie was well captivated, it kept you in wanting to know what was gonna happen next. At times your feeling for all the characters and at the same time trying to find which to connect with. It's realistic and genuine thanks to the actors performances. Cons: I honestly think with time the film started being a one track plot and did not account for all the layers it was producing at the beginning. Some elements were lost when the mother ends up being worse than her captor which I believe wouldn't happen as such unless the mother was already a messed up person which could be true adding to a realistic situation. The doctor wasn't concerned as much as one would be in real life unless again to add some realism they ended up with a doctor who just wants to put in their hours and go home with that 9 to 5 attitude. In all: my cons were along the lines of critique personally... where there were nuances of dislike I easily found a way to ignore it or justify it in order to follow the story, the ending was intense and could not be truly felt by only watching that part, the whole build up to that point makes for one of the best endings I've seen in a film, a television film at that... because of that ending it was awesome.

This movie is very well acted by all of the cast. It was interesting to see how people can cope in the aftermath of someone's child being abducted, then many years later having them return and how they deal with this. Saoirse Ronan and Cynthia Nixon both have very strong parts, one is dealing with having to leave the only 'home' that she has known, having being brought up with a man who has brainwashed her with lies from a very young age, therefore knows no other truth, but also shows a caring side to her-therefore she develops a strong connection to her kidnapper, so feels as though she has been torn away from the only life she has ever known, even if it was all lies given by someone unstable. She then is taken back to her parents, who she does not know and clearly feels uncomfortable around them, this understandably is very difficult for all three of them. However, I must object to how the Mother deals with the situation completely, rather than giving her time that she obviously needs to form a connection with her parents at her own pace, her Mother basically just does the same thing the kidnapper did and tries to force a connection on her. And all due to the fact that not only does she not have the patience to allow nature to take it's course, behave selfless and be capable of putting her Daughter's feelings first, be understanding to her feelings and needs...but she also teaches her that 'love' means to lock someone you care about in a room, giving food and water on a schedule, ordering them to do things without a choice, keeping her locked away from any other people, tying a rope around her arm so she does not try to run away, therefore establishing no trust whatsoever and ultimately forcing her to create her own little escape. As difficult a situation something like this would be, no Mother should do any of those things and certainly not one who knows that she has already had that done to them. I do recommend giving this movie a watch, as they all played very well in it