This movie gave me stomachaches because it's so intriguing and gripping.

Rating: 9/10 (22 June 2009)

In short, this well-directed, masterfully acted film will stay on the IMDb top 250 for a long time. It seemed the audiences tend to skip it due to the heavy tone and the heavy-handed "true story". However, it really deserved more than one viewing.
The good: 1, Angelina Jolie. I can only say: she's totally true in every scene. Losing tens of pounds, she gave herself a nervous/desperate appearance right after the movie begins. It's not like she acted everyone off the screen, on the contrast, she's always weak, fearful and is everything a single mother would be. I like this character because she's an example of strength rising from love and hope, rather than hatred and anger. If you have stomach problem, I strongly suggest you take some anti-acid before viewing this, since Jolie's put in many tortures, mentally and physically. Anyway, I learned how strong a person can be in his/her mind.
2, The story. It's not like Thelma and Louise, which preached feminism to an extreme. It's the journal of heartbroken person, a legend about enduring life's darkest periods. Such dark periods, regardless of the magnitude, can happen to anyone. In the movie, different types of crimes and misdeeds were exposed and explored, again gripping your stomach and challenging your heart. The mother, being weak and helpless, wanted to kept a good relation with the police/public/media, therefore reluctantly posed for a title photo which later turned out to be a nightmare. I mean, such kind of crap can happen everyday to any of us. Near the end, when the other captured boy was finally found after 6 years, he was questioned as why he didn't return and report the psychopath killer. His answer was also very shocking, stating that he was afraid that the public would blame his escape and cowardice. Such are victims. It's so realistic and mind-provoking that we're living in a miserable society, where a lot of things are waiting to be set straight.
The bad: 1, It doesn't end a typical happy ending. 2, LAPD may still find this story horrifying and humiliating. 3, today we have a lot more social problems than 1928......
I mean, the movie leaved me too many things to think about. I honestly recommend it to all of you.
9/10