Brief Story Line
Story was narrated by Ani Fanelli (Mila Kunis - Wonder Park, A Bad Moms Christmas etc), a woman who seemed to be having the perfect life. She was getting married to very wealthy Luke Harrison (Finn Wittrock - American Horror Story TV series etc), while also working as the editor to a famous magazine in New York under her boss Lolo Vincent (Jennifer Beals - Swamp Thing TV series, The Book of Eli etc). Ani also had a best friend from college named Nell (Justine Lupe - Succession TV series etc) who was always very supportive of her. Coming from average family, Ani's mother Dida (Connie Britton - Friday Night Lights etc) was also very proud of her achievement.
However, as she was preparing for the wedding, it was slowly revealed that Ani actually had a dark past in her teenage years which affected her till she grew up. Things started to fall apart for Ani when her past starting to catch up with her.
So how would Ani cope with it all? You can find out in this movie.
End of Brief Story Line
This movie started off quite nicely with the introduction of Ani (played quite brilliantly by Mila Kunis if I may say), the woman who seemed to have it all and sounded very intelligent while narrating her story. With bits and pieces that we could grasp from the few flash backs shown every now and then, it made me really intrigued of what kind of secret that Ani was hiding from everyone.
As the story progressed, I found myself to be quite fascinated by Ani's life story. Especially when we found out more on what happened to her in the past. From then though, the story became more captivating with some surprising facts, but at the same time I felt it was getting heavier as compared to the early stage where there were plenty of dark humor.
To be honest, when I caught a glimpse of the trailer, I thought this would be a full thriller with mystery movie. However, it turned out to be more like drama, especially after the first half. Not that it made the film bad or anything, it's just not really what I expected. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed this movie and I liked the ending, particularly that last scene before the closing credit. I noticed also the movie was based on the novel of the same title written by Jessica Knoll (whose name was credited as screenwriter) and directed by Mike Barker (Butterfly on a Wheel, To Kill a King etc).
Aside from Mila Kunis, I think the others who stood out were Connie Britton (great as Ani's mother) and Jennifer Beals who played the easily likable chief editor Lolo. Oh, I also think Chiara Aurelia (Fear Street Part Two: 1978, Cruel Summer TV series etc) was quite convincing as young Ani. Another important character was Ani's teacher Mr. Larson (Scoot McNairy - Aftermath, Killing Them Softly etc).
Overall, this movie was pretty interesting with an intriguing story of Ani's life. The storytelling was good where it slowly revealed what actually happened in the past. I am actually a bit surprised by the mixed/average review by critics as I thought they would have loved this sort of film. But then again, I never could get general critics opinion. Anyway, for those who are looking for a drama with a bit mystery, then you could give this a try.
Mike's movie moments rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
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