Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom FranklinI know the rating on IMDB is only 6.4 but I absolutely loved it. Elle Fanning's performance was stupendous, as was the rest of this young but talented cast.
Beautiful telling giving the insight into the relationships that brought about the pain she channeled into this writing.
One of my favorite books of all time. They did a spectacular job of portraying it's inspiration and how it all came to life for her. Better than any telling I've seen as yet.
...and to have it come from such young talents gives me hope that her writing won't be forgotten and dismissed as some series of Hollywood tales. That a new generation will see the depth and intensity of the truth behind the story.
Mary Shelley
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3906082/
I remember this story all over the news growing up. It fascinated me and had a lot to do with me pursuing my degree in psychology so I was intrigued to see what happened after the initial reunion years... but it takes a dark turn that is heartbreaking, disturbing, maddening, angering.
My focus of study was always what drives human behavior - nature vs nurture, the effects of abuse/neglect/home life during childhood years, addictions, depression, OCD, anxiety, forensics, serial killers, cult followings, racism, semitism/Holocaust, apartheid, etc. - as well as ethics.
Despite how incredibly valuable these nature vs nurture, multiple birth/parenting studies are from a scientific perspective, there is always the questions of intrusion, unintentional, or, at the very least, unrecognized bias due to manipulation of environment to outright insertion of the researcher directly into the study... and, most importantly, of science and morality.
This entire story is unconscionable...the mental gymnastics of those who participated in the orchestration of it, in justifying or excusing their own complicity, duplicity...
If you haven't watched it, it is riveting and powerful but upsetting and disturbing. It has reignited, yet again, all those things that drove my studies so many years ago. We know much more as a result of these of studies but at what a tragic, horrible cost.
I completely blame those involved in their separation so very young with such planned, nefarious purpose for what happened to them as children, in their teen years, and as adults. The damage done by their separation displayed itself dramatically even when they were toddlers (especially in retrospect)..and they owe them explanations and complete access to these studies. Apologies (which they will never receive) don't even begin to touch what they did. I cannot shake the repetitive phrase "by design" as the latter portion of the story is unveiled and knowing those records were deliberately sealed until the youngest of the victimized children are all deceased.
CNN did a beautiful job with this piece (not at all surprising)... and I've had Pulitzer prize winner Lawrence Wright's work on my TBR list for ages. I especially want to read his book "Twins" (as well as the one on Al Qeuda that won him that Pulitzer).
I have to add... this story is made devastatingly more powerful and disturbing in light of the separation of migrant children from their parents and siblings at the US/Mexican border and even beyond, leaving them with little to zero knowledge of their background (depending on age) along with the inherent, devastating initial trauma of their separation and the twisted fabrications and factual distortions used to justify those actions.
It's a shame ... this aspect of human nature.
Three Identical Strangers
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7664504/
