The few seconds of return to childhood at the end was not worth the hour plus of bratty, violent, hypersexualized preteens you had to sit through to get there. Realistic depiction of some girls? Sure. I remember girls like that. But meaningful writing or filming to leave you feeling educated or wanting to act in some positive way to make a difference? Nope. You just can’t figure out why anyone let their kids do this film or how anyone could film it and not question why half the (very creepy) shots were necessary. I kept hoping it would redeem itself and the online outrage people had without seeing it was dramatic, but I’m going to have to say it was pretty spot on, unfortunately.

I liked it quite a lot, so apparently I’m a pedophile.
How wonderful.

Some people really need to learn the difference between glorification and criticism. A sexualized image of an 11 year old dancing like a slut can mean multiple things, depending on the intent of the artist. Always be sure to track the character arc of the protagonist, look at what happens to him/her throughout the story, and in this case, you’ll understand why those images are part of the film. I’m not denying that it’ll attract some actual perverts, but that’s not a problem of the film. I’m sure that some people who watched _The Wolf of Wallstreet_ thought that Wall Street seems like a lot of fun (coke, hookers, money), but if you can put two and two together, you know Scorsese’s intent was the opposite.

7.5/10

I don't understand all the hype & disturbing criticism about this movie. It's NOT about pedophilia. Over-sexualization of children? Sure...if that's how you choose to see it. Nobody bats an eye when ANY pop star does the same exact thing on stage & film! This is a group of preteen girls in a coming-of-age story in 2020 with MANY underlying stressors affecting their not yet fully developed frontal lobes! That's it! Take into account how real these children are portrayed given that ALL THEY SEE & KNOW is from TV, movies, music videos, gaming, & the internet. It is literally everywhere you look these days. The hypersexuality of women has become the "norm." Because it's a film it's not supposed to depict truth?! Come on, people! Grow up & take your rose-colored glasses off. You can't have your cake & eat it too. Either stop normalizing the way women are portrayed in media or face the consequences of your children emulating them. Those are your choices! Leave the film alone. It did it's job. It told it's own personal story with the raw, bleeding edge that is our society.

Going against sexualizing minors... With sexualizing minors. Yeah, no. But I guess I can't say that, because it got praise by some dirty old men at some festival. And it's made by female director with similar experience, so all is good. Don't worry about the fact, that some sickos already jerked off to some scenes of it.

This movie is a dream for pedophiles. **do not watch it, every view is cash for them** . Please don't start with the artistic story. Those are real little girls in the movie that are really doing those disgusting moves (and how many more did it during the selections?). The real abuse here are the parents that let there little girl take part in this movie just for the money. I'm really shocked to see something like this on Netflix. If you want to make a movie about child abuse **you do not need to abuse a child!** I can really go on and on about this, because I'm really pissed, but I think I made my point. This is just disgusting.

Why is this so controversial? Why are people complaining? Isn't this how 11 year old girls behave?

It's a very decent debut and a well made film that has echoes of films like 'Girlhood', 'Pariah' and 'Ratcatcher'. The final shot is stunning.

Well it's certainly not what you've been hearing about. Yes, it has some troubling scenes, and maybe they shouldn't have subjected that to young girls, but it is nothing compared to what is readily available on the Internet and what other child actors have gone through. Just to be clear, the dancing is indeed quite suggestive but unsurprising compared to other similar dance comp shows, there is one nip slip that the girls see in a video of older girls, and a graphic picture is taken and posted online but never shown. So tough to watch, but certainly not the main culprit of the hypersexualization of minors and women. Anyways, it was the ending that brought the film together for me. Until then, it seemed like just a story of a troubled child in a broken home who acts out at school. I'll just say that it gives motivation behind her actions throughout.

The moral panic around this movie is something straight out of the 20th century. I can see why it makes people uncomfortable, though. It's supposed to! It's a good, relevant story.