Unflinching account of a young girls past. Difficult watch at times. Laura Dern is phenomenal.

I am not crazy about the structure but the cast does great work.

Zero wasn't an option. Slow and boring. Skip the first 40 minutes and it might be good, that's about how long I lasted.

There's a heaviness to The Tale that is inescapable and suffocating. The reshaping of Jennifer Fox's memory as it comes into focus becomes more and more harrowing and she delves deeper. The sole breath of fresh air being reserved for its final moments accurately reflects the terror of the story and Laura Dern's confrontation scene with the Home Alone dad is exhilarating. I want very much for this to be as critical of a watch as it should be (and still really is) without feeling the need to point to its acting and tonal inconsistencies and made for tv-esque qualities. Despite what I found to be shortcomings in the viewing experience specifically, this true story is a devastating yet vital watch.

It is one thing to speak about this kind of horror, it is something else entirely to attempt to make it look loving and romantic and presented with soft music. Can you seriously not see the difference? The movie is normalizing rape and grooming. On the other hand, Pedos will love it. If you like to watch romanticized scenes of grown men having sex with prepubescent girls, this is one for you.

Le pido a TODO EL MUNDO deshágase de HBO, HBO Max, HBO Mundi y todo lo relacionado con esta empresa. Están "NORMALIZANDO y NATURALIZANDO" la PEDOFILIA. Si estas en contra de estos actos aberrantes, DESAFILIATE DE HBO Y DEJA DE SUBSIDIARLOS CON TU PAGO MENSUAL. CON LOS NIÑOS NO¡¡¡

What I liked most about this movie was the complexity of survivors of child abuse. I was married to a man who was sexually abused by his father until he was about 8. He did not even know it was abuse until he was at a boy scout campout and the kids in the tent next door were talking about his father who was a scout leader. He broke up the relationship much the way the character in the movie did by telling his father to never touch him again and he never did. He did love his father though and, unfortunately, developed some of his cruelty, though he was brilliant and funny. I admire the honesty in this movie. I know the writer has not divulged the perpetrators, but I suspect they and others recognize who they are.

Holy ‘made for tv' fluff. What were you thinking, critics? Slow, dull, meandering story with only Laura Dern's decent showing to help. Someone cast Common in a role here, too. Dreadfully bad actor. Painful to watch him even try. Skip this drab HBO entry.

A very tasteful, yet profound, treatment of a difficult subject. Jennifer Fox succeeded in communicating her personal story. Both Jennies (Dern & Nelisse) portray splendidly the ambivalence and uncertainty about hard memories relived in the inner dialogue all of us have in our lives.

Far out! That's all I can say. So personal, so well told, so horrifying

If this is what all these victims go through then this must be pure hell. In essential story that must be told. Bare, unsanitised, traumatizing, horrifying and a most brutal therapy some dare to go through. The film is extremely difficult to get through in a lot of areas throughout and unimaginable and unspeakably heinous to witness, but incredibly high marks for this director's bold, brave telling of her real life traumatic experiences.

Very difficult to watch especially during the sex scenes, which is the only reason i didnt gove it 5 stars. But definitely a must watch

RATING: A+ Director: Jennifer Fox The Tale is an emotional drama based on a book that the Writer/Director/Producer wrote with 15 years. Laura Dern plays the adult version of Jennifer and she is a Tour de Force, really Oscar worthy. The young actress who plays the 13 year old version could be considered as the film's standout. The film has some disturbing scenes that will stick with you for days ( I watched it 4 days ago and I still think about it ). Fox's Screenplay and here Direction are cherishable and she could definitely have a future with Directing Features.

Muddled storytelling. Laura Dern is the reason to see this.

Extremely unsatisfying and uncomfortable at times- as it should be. Brilliant cast and performance by Laura Dern, transcending from the conceptual to the unknown, travelling into the depths of the mind and the horror of child abuse. The Tale is a challenging story, seen through the eyes of both young and adult Jennifer as the roots of trauma reemerge.

Great storytelling and a great film. Disturbing at times but really well done

Disappointed that such an important and timely message isn't conveyed more capably. The film is disjointed, the dialogue uneven, most of the acting is serviceable at best, and the ending is curiously flat. Casting a young Jenny who looks nothing like what the adult Jenny would have looked like as a teen was distracting, and strained credibility throughout.

Ive never written a film review. Til now. Haunting + powerful. Without exploiting. This one will stay with me.

Lame hbo movie. Oof.

"The tale" is always hard to watch no matter the age of the viewer, the personal story by Jennifer Fox is one of a million, all of them wanting to be said, the film deply trespass the barrier between fiction and reality.