User Reviews

Another pleasant surprise in this 2016, The Girl in the Book is a film with a history of a past, present and future of a young woman who had a forbidden relationship with a famous writer when he was just a teenager, a relationship that forged her life in various ways. Alice (Emily VanCamp) is close to turning 30 and she is living without any sort of emotion in Manhattan, a city with many attractions but she seems frustrated by all. She is a junior editor but she is treated as a secretary and messenger, being ignored for more serious work. Alice wants to write but she is mentally blocked and it has something to do with what happened when she was 15, she was coaxed into a romantic relationship by Milan (Michael Nyqvist), a writer much older than her, who encouraged her in her writing but he also abuse her trust. The humiliation of tha abandonment and now that the publishing house where she works reissued the book that Milan wrote about their relationship, although written in a fictious way this is too much for her and she starts to crumble. The film is practical, unassuming and with a good pace. Although Alice is not the most charismatic character but she knows how to handle the various emotional states being experienced, so that is quite enough.

Ms. Cohn's movie has a lot going for it and a lot not. The two balanced each other out so well that I kept my finger on the STOP button through much of the aggravating moments but didn't actually hit it so I made it to the end. If only the direction and cinematography didn't look so made-for-TV. If only the director hadn't allowed Alice's father to overact. But most important, if only the scriptwriter didn't think that in this modern age a single act of casual sex would be the most important thing in the world. Alice ought to look harder for a best female friend, hers is prudish and judgmental and disloyal. She needs a better boyfriend as well, hers just can't let something go, he's supposed to be so great and he's as stiff and unforgiving as a stick up Dick Cheney's butt.

What girl is smart enough to give an insanely great score to this movie? You know.... 9 or 10? More likely 10. It feels more like a 7 than a 10 and you know this, users. The Girl in the Book is smarter than the average girl.

I just watched "I Smile Back" and now this one. Starts out the same, well to do women who have a problem and react to it with destructive behavior. But while one gives in, this one tries to fight it. Why doesn't she see a shrink? She can afford it. Guess we all react in different ways.