Una

2017 "Absence makes the hurt grow stronger"
6.2| 1h34m| en| More Info
Released: 06 October 2017 Released
Producted By: Film4 Productions
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://bronstudios.com/portfolio/una/
Synopsis

When a young woman unexpectedly arrives at an older man's workplace, looking for answers, the secrets of the past threaten to unravel his new life.

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dingane I think most of the negative comments I read here are people mad at two things. First, they're mad that Una herself seems ambivalent about the relationship she at 13 with this man. Part of her is mad at Ray, but part of her clearly misses him. It even kind of looks like maybe she's only mad because he left her, not because he statutorily raped her. Second, it allows Ray the space to say that he's not really a pedophile, but just loved this particular girl at that time. It clearly wants the viewer to consider whether this was a truly loving relationship that was only complicated by the age issue. People justifiably do not want to consider such a thing and, if you're like my wife, turned it off. I came back to finish it because I was interested to see how it was going to resolve. And the acting and cinematography are phenomenal.Here's where the movie saves itself and proves it isn't what my wife thought it was.You get your first glimpse at true Ray in the warehouse when he starts saying stuff to Una like "You were just so wise for your years." That's the kind of manipulative crap that pedophiles use to "groom" their victims. It harkens back to past pedophile Ray. It passes quickly, but it's clear that there's more to Ray than he's been showing us.I'm skipping a bunch. In the end, they go to a garden party at Ray's house where Una discovers that he married a woman who has her own very cute 13 year old daughter. Suddenly Ray sees that he's in danger. He follows Una out and starts telling her again how special she was and how he's never been attracted to another young girl etc. He's clearly full of shit. At that moment, Una realizes that he's been full of shit for however many years. She realizes how stupid she's been for holding a candle for this guy, and she leaves, feeling disgusted. Ray turns around and everyone saw *something* happen. He's got some explaining to do and it's probably not going to go well for him.But here's why I love this movie. It turns the *viewer* into Una. At the beginning we're thinking this guy is a creepo, but maybe it was just this momentary thing and he's not *really* a pedophile. Maybe he even really loved her, even if having sex with her was wrong. The film forces us into Una's ambivalence. It's only in the last few moments that we do a 180 along with Una. She and the viewer realize in the same moment that Ray is and always has been a predator.If you don't watch it until the end, you might think it's defending statutory rape. It's not. It's just trying to take you on a journey with a woman who is still on a hard journey, processing her abuse. For that reason, it's a powerful film
amhr4517 If you were sexually abused as a child or teen, this movie could cause flashbacks or, in my case, downright sickness.To me it was unrealistic as to what the effects of that abuse can be--but then I realized who am I to judge how another abused child would react or behave as an adult? At the same time I cannot imagine a victim kissing her aviser.
krocheav Una is: Exploitation at best ~ movie making and writing at its cheapest. Badly paced: Shot in a very large factory warehouse so the camera can simply follow characters as they wander from one side to the other then down corridors - moving in and out of various rooms to painfully pad out the length of this 50min (maximum) story to full feature length. It's a sensationalistic story, where the audience is turned into voyeurs as we are forced to eavesdrop while the writer and director gloat over numerous vile situations - involving an older married man interfering with a 13yr old girl. Very little class on display here - simply movie makers attempting to add an arty veneer over some overripe paedophilia obscenities. Even the supposed shattering climax is not delivered but ends up looking more like another lame excuse. I suppose this gives academia and movie aficionados an excuse to psychoanalyse the 'lives' of artificial (spelt 'Fake') characters & writings. From the look of the low box-office returns - the majority of audiences need more than vulgar details to qualify for their time and money. Expect a few walkouts on this offering.
eddie_baggins Una is uncomfortable and unnerving viewing, a film that will make your skin crawl on more than one occasion but thanks to some award worthy turns from its impressive lead performers, Benedict Andrews film is noteworthy as a character driven, dialogue heavy expose of some very heavy material.Andrews film, which is based on David Harrower's esteemed play, keeps its stage play roots well and truly at the forefront as Rooney Mara's tormented Una takes a road trip to confront Ben Mendelsohn's factory foreman Peter, a man she knows from her childhood as Ray and a man with whom she had an illegal relationship with as a 13 year old teenage girl.Largely taking place in Peter's workplace as he and Una discuss what happened, what could've been and what they feel, we get brief yet confronting flashbacks to Peter and Una's forbidden affiliation but mostly Andrews is focussing solely on Mara and Mendelsohn as the two competent performers work off each other too slowly tear away the layers to reveal their true motivations and inward thoughts.Mara once again shows she is willing to be laid bare as an actress in another noteworthy turn while Mendelsohn, who has recently been cast more as a purely bad guy type role, gets one of his meatiest feature film roles yet as Peter.His far from a likable or respectable person but Mendelsohn plays him to perfection, giving Peter just the right amount of humanity and against all the odds moments of compassion.It's a role that could've fallen either way but the Aussie actor once more showcases why his regarded now as one of our all-time great exports. With Mara he shares a wonderful energy, while with the younger Una played by Ruby Stokes, Mendelsohn plays the role not predatory but more purely sad, a man consumed by feelings and urges that lead him to make his life's biggest mistake.Una's greatest flaw as a film and ability too fully connect is strangely with the character of Una herself.We feel her pain and understand the confusion and mental strain that has been bought down upon her but her reasoning behind confronting Peter and then her subsequent decisions from there are not that easy to understand. For a film that in many ways feels so realistic and raw, Una's consistently odd behaviour is hard to take, even when at times she is a heartbreakingly broken soul searching for closure on her past.Final Say – Not what you'd call an entertaining watch, thanks to some dark subject material and sombre to bleak tone, Una is an immaculately acted tale whose flawed characters don't always connect but thanks to Mara and Mendelsohn and Andrews carefully weighted hand behind-camera, this is a bleak drama that's a cut-above many similar productions.3 ½ Ferris Wheel rides out of 5