This movie is absolutely perfect. It's raw, real, and shows how sexual abuse can affect the subconscious for a lifetime. As someone who was sexually abused at a young age, I recommend this movie to anyone who has gone through something similar. You won't regret it. The acting is superb, the writing and style of film works great for the theme. POWERFUL, MOVING, BREATHTAKINGLY PAINFUL.. This is one movie I will never forget.

When reviewing a film like "The Tale", I want to be careful in quantifying some of my statements. In an era in which women are much more empowered to tell their stories of abuse (sexual or otherwise) and confront their tormentors, movies like this are important to be made/seen. Even more unique/impressive is the fact that director & writer Jennifer Fox is actually telling her own story in this case. As such, despite the fact that I didn't find "The Tale" to perhaps be as gripping as I thought it could/should, I would never say it isn't important or made from a well-meaning place.For a basic plot summary, "The Tale" tells the story of Jennifer (Laura Dern), a videographer who out-of-the-blue is drawn back into her past where as a 13-year old (played by Isabelle Nelisse) she was sexually coerced/assaulted by her track and field coach Bill (Jason Ritter). All the while, her equestrian mentor Mrs. G (Elizabeth Debicki) sat back and let it happen, while mother Nettie (Laura Allen & Ellen Burstyn) never quite put all the pieces together until it was far too late. Now an adult, Jennifer must deal with those events in order to feel authentic in front of her classes of students.In terms of overall material and the emotion it contains, this is an excellent and heartbreaking film. It pulls absolutely no punches and really feels authentic (the costumes/sets of the 70s add realism). In short, the production value here is wonderful, as befitting a film with HBO backing.My main problem with "The Tale", however, is that I felt the narrative tricks it used to tell the story were at best confusing and at worse distracting from the overall emotion of the piece. There are times where grown-up Jennifer will converse with young-Jennie, as well as other cross-time interactions that obviously aren't actually happening but are portrayed as Jennifer's inter-ruminations. Instead of deepening the emotion for me, what this ended up doing was confusing what the overall take-home message of the film was supposed to be. I really struggled to get much past "it was a horrible/wrong thing to have happen" even though I know Fox is hinting at more deeper themes.One standout of the whole thing, though, is Dern absolutely acting her heart out in every scene she is in. None of my narrative confusion can be pinned on the acting in this one, as I found it to be really solid and, in Dern's case, spectacular. It's amazing to think that she has been working almost nonstop since Jurassic Park!So, overall I put "The Tale" at 6/10 stars, with the caveat that I think the importance of what is being conveyed throughout the film likely transcends how objectively "good" it actually ends up being.

SPOILER: When a film comes to the subject of sexual abuse, people tend to think that it is a great film, as it is so difficult and challenging to approach that profound and sensitive subject. This film "The Tale" is indeed such an example, and the writer-director comes up with some extra thoughts and complexity, particularly on the impact of that sexual abuse on the later life. The last five minutes of the film, or the confrontation between Fox and Allens, is just stunning, and Laura Dern definitely gives the best performance of her entire career. The tale is just a tale for a stupid innocent young girl, and is in fact a brainwash from a playboy that constantly takes advantage of kids.

Very well plotted, this was a powerful tale that I won't get out of my head for a very long time. It's completely relevant to the #metoo era that we're living through now.