This girl Ella beats a stranger, spazzes out at her father's work site, harms several people....but gets her way. It's ridiculous and honestly isn't fun to watch. I kept thinking to myself, it's not as if she has two faces where her dad sees an angelic face and everyone else sees a little monster. No, the dad sees the bratty monster, and brushes it off. Most of the time, it's an idiot female protagonist that gets people killed with naiveté; here it's an idiot male one. Not to mention, she's adopted out of an abusive situation, her adopted mom dies....this kid acts out so often...no therapy? She also spends so much time by herself (including on the vacation her dad just had to take her on). Mr. Neighbor may have had a point about Nolan's parenting skills. Rhoda in The Bad Seed (one of my favorite films of all time) at least had a few people completely fooled by being charming and keeping her evilness somewhat hidden. Ella does no such thing and I'm spending the movie waiting for her to get her lightning bolt on the pier.
Even after all of her crimes, she is coddled to the very end. Which just means her father Nolan learned absolutely nothing and Ella will grow up to be the typical Lifetime villain, with daddy issues, that ends up obsessed with someone else's fiance. Instead of tide pods, it'll be syringes. Ella is too much of a brat. How many people have to say something about Ella before dumb Nolan connects a single dot? Ella's crimes are also sloppy (unlike Rhoda) so by her third victim I'm over it.
Since it's not the point of the movie, I'll spoil that the Dad and Cecily end up together. What mother would choose a relationship with a man who's daughter tried to kill her and her son? That scene at the climax was absolutely wild and no potential relationship should have survived that. Sometimes these wrap-things-up-so pretty endings should not happen.
I am glad that her little best friend not only turned on her, but survived. Same for the housekeeper.
Even after all of her crimes, she is coddled to the very end. Which just means her father Nolan learned absolutely nothing and Ella will grow up to be the typical Lifetime villain, with daddy issues, that ends up obsessed with someone else's fiance. Instead of tide pods, it'll be syringes. Ella is too much of a brat. How many people have to say something about Ella before dumb Nolan connects a single dot? Ella's crimes are also sloppy (unlike Rhoda) so by her third victim I'm over it.
Since it's not the point of the movie, I'll spoil that the Dad and Cecily end up together. What mother would choose a relationship with a man who's daughter tried to kill her and her son? That scene at the climax was absolutely wild and no potential relationship should have survived that. Sometimes these wrap-things-up-so pretty endings should not happen.
I am glad that her little best friend not only turned on her, but survived. Same for the housekeeper.