MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR SPOILERS! WATCH THE MOVIE FIRST!!!!!!
We decided to go dutch on this one mainly because we are new parents. Our daughter Joelle was born almost one year ago and this film really spoke to both of us. Seeing as how Jeremy Sisto now has a daughter of his own, it's no doubt he sees this kind of film with new eyes too, along with films like "Gardens of the Night".
When this film closes, there are some sobering facts presented on the screen:
"In the U.S. there are an estimated 800,000 child prostitutes under the age of 17.
150,000 of them are under the age of 12.
Of those children, 85% previously suffered incest, rape or abuse at home."
First of all, we are both impressed with this picture. We can't get over what amazing performances the young actors portraying the prostitutes gave. As much as we both admire "Gardens of the Night" we have to say that we found this film to be measurably better!
We don't want to take anything whatsoever away from "gardens". We think it is a great and important film, and the 2 should both be watched. The themes of "Gardens" are mainly child abduction by strangers and those children being sold as sex slaves to pedophiles, and child pornography.
The themes of "Nickel Children" are sexual abuse by a parent and then running from home only to serve the perverted desires of men on the street. Honestly, it's hard to say which film is more terrifying to parents. It was just that we were blown away with the raw emotion of Tamra Hope's performance. It just seemed far more believable than that of the young actress in "Gardens". We admire the courage of the cast and crews of both of these films for bringing these issues out into the open for discussion. There are always stupid shmoes on the internet who think these films are "exploitative" but I think those people are the ones who want to sweep everything under the rug or just find it too painful to discuss openly.
Child abuse is so prevalent and widespread that out of all the people I know, at least 85-90% of them have been messed with in some way. My best friend, my own brother and sister, and even me. And it was by someone I was supposed to trust: my own dad. I am not going to exploit my situation, let's just say that I still can't believe that the man who took us fishing also did the things he did to us.
The Nickel Children is extremely disturbing in comparison to Gardens of the Night. While neither film revels in graphic scenes of child rape, The Nickel Children has a tone that, incredibly as it may seem, is much darker and seedier. The "chicken hawk" scene with Reilly McClendon sent chills down my spine. You don't see Ron Jeremy (yep, that guy!) on screen, but his voice and the way he speaks to "Nolan" is absolutely horrifying.
"Gardens", in contrast, softens the emotional carnage with scenes of "Lezlie" being tenderly comforted by the very man who is exploiting her, while a delicate, angelic music theme plays in the background.
Back to "Children" The scenes with Mark Boone, Jr. are also very disturbing. The DVD has a behind the scenes featurette as part of its extras. Both Boone and Tamra Hope, who plays "Cat" had a very, very hard time doing these violent scenes, but their impact hits home hard.
"Nickel Children" isn't perfect. I was curious about Nolan's home story, though it's no more vague at first than Cat's. His parents died. His sister died. Did he go into foster care then? Did they abuse him? I guess being spoon fed isn't necessary though.
Perhaps the most uneasy sequence was the one in which Cat is treated by a doctor at a free clinic. Jeremy Sisto is the doc, and he is, as many have suggested, interesting to say the least. However, we really didn't know what to make of him. He is handsome (oh yea, says Patsy!) and soft spoken. The sequence is actually quite clever, leaving us with more questions than answers. He tells Cat she is pregnant, and as they converse quietly, he at first is a man of very few words, evading or fudging on answering some personal questions Cat asks him. Cat tries to seduce him, and he politely refuses her advances, then suddenly, he opens up with some very weird and just a wee bit disconcerting confessions.
When he has Cat lay down so he can do an abdominal exam to see how far she is along, the eye contact he gives her gave me the willies. Was it just eye contact from a doctor to a patient? With Sisto's smoldering eyes, it's hard to tell!!!!!!! Joel says to get off it and get back on point...ok...but still, what's it all about? What was that flashback with their faces close together? Was the doctor fantasizing? Was he sickened by himself? Is it that at all????!! I almost feel like an asshole because I might be totally shredding apart what is supposed to be one of the "good" characters! But see, I couldn't be sure what to think of him, that is what made it the most facinating and disturbing sequence, for me (Patsy) anyway. Is he a pervert? Is he looking for atonement or redemption? "Why do you do what you do?" Cat had asked him.
More than likely, one of her recent johns is the father of Cat's baby, but questions about her relationship with Nolan arose too: Do they have sex? Is it possibly his baby? He without a doubt loves Cat. They talk about going up to Canada for a new life, but they need a lot more money than they have. Nolan actually fantasizes about kidnapping a baby and selling it to get money for the trip. The many short "flashback" and "fast-forward" scenes give the story a little something extra.
The serial killer, alas, wasn't as well developed as he should have been. He was a bit contrived, it seems. He didn't seem to have a preference of what kind of victims to prey upon. Why does he kill Bea (Marsha Thomason)? Had he had sex with her first? Why does he not have sex with or force sex upon Nolan? Is he one of those killers who kills because he is ashamed of his desires and replaces sex with death?
When Feedo (Tom Sizemore, in a nice supportive role too) is forced to close his motel, Cat is forced to return to her original home. She has lost Nolan too, and she has nowhere else to go. At the bus station, she runs into a creepy former customer and his new companion, a girl of no more than 12, if that. This was another mysterious scene. Was that girl his own daughter? Was it Cat's own self?
when she gets home, her mother gives her a big hug and says, "He forgives you." Horrible. She's the kind of mother that I want to shoot dead. A friend I went to church with back in the day had a mom like that. Her mom threw her out when she found out that hubby was raping her! Cat's mom isn't as blatant as my friend's, but she's worse in so many ways.
Incest tears families apart, as if I needed to tell you that. How long was Cat on the streets of L.A.? Weeks? Months? This film also drives home the point that while most children who have been made victims of crime are treated with compassion and couth, child prostitutes are shunned by "decent" society and seen as delinquents and trash. It's a cold world out there, and this story doesn't end on a glad note. Cat gathers up all the symbols that represent herself and her only real friend Nolan: her little dress and the Dark Justice comic. She goes a new home in the bittersweet finale, a place ever better than Canada's colorful landscapes.
Again, we think both "Gardens" and "Nickel" should be seen by everyone, and that they are both very excellently made and important films about children. I think the reason we are saying "Nickel" is a degree better is Tamra Hope's powerful performance. It's not a mystery why she won a couple of festival awards!
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