Obviously the filmmaker and the other victims are very brave for coming forward in this documentary. However, we are given very little information. For example, Heaven tells us little about the abuse other than a brief mention of what they did (hand job, oral sex) Where did it take place, always in the classroom? How long did it go on, did she tell anyone about it at the time? How often? How did it occur with such secrecy-was it during the school day always, or after hours? Did it continue past HS? Of course it's difficult to revisit these memories, I would guess, but It is a documentary. Details matter. Viewers cannot get invested in the story and truly feel how terrible it was, if we don't know what happened. Way too much footage is spent on the victims commiserating with each other and telling each other how they have had the same experience, but that experience is not sufficiently imparted to the viewer. Allison says several times how her college years were ruined by the abuse. How did the abuse impact her college years? What happened? Did she miss classes, do drugs, stay in her room from depression? Party too hard? We don't know because she never tells us. She doesn't give us too much detail about the grooming and abuse either. We know that he gave her a suggestive poem, he made her feel special, and they 1st kissed in his house. Then she moved in with him in Utah and stayed in the basement and they had sex. But questions abound. Where and when did the abuse take place during the HS years? ? Was it always in his house? How did the wife not have an inkling of what was going on? And when Allison moved in with them in another state, that didn't ring any alarm bells with the wife either? What about Allison's mom? The predator had managed to convince her that there was nothing going on, even though her gut feeling told her otherwise. Are you telling me that when Allison decided to move in with this guy, that this did not ignite any new suspicion in Allison's mom?? The scene at the kitchen table where Allison and her mom are talking about when her mom confronted the predator, why didn't Allison ask her -mom, but later, didn't you think it was weird when I moved in with him??
Other frustrating moments were when Allison went to meet with that guy Tom. He definitely seemed weird right off the bat. Even before they told us that he was being charged with abuse, I thought to myself, well, he looks like a predator himself! But why doesn't Allison call Tom on the thing her friend said-that Tom threatened her friend to not say anything more about the teacher abusing Allison, or else Tom would give the friend a bad grade. Allison meets him for a barbecue in the backyard and doesn't say a word. Why doesn't she ask Tom, why did you say that to my friend? Did you cover for my abuser? Why did you try to hush my friend up? Is it because you are an abuser yourself?" We see him on a zoom later, being interviewed by Allison's associate, I think, where he says "I don't remember that." The associate has no follow up , such as "It's odd to me that you say you don't remember it, rather than say, I would never say that to a student!" I gave it a 6 only because it is an important subject to bring to light and the women were courageous in putting their story out there.
Other frustrating moments were when Allison went to meet with that guy Tom. He definitely seemed weird right off the bat. Even before they told us that he was being charged with abuse, I thought to myself, well, he looks like a predator himself! But why doesn't Allison call Tom on the thing her friend said-that Tom threatened her friend to not say anything more about the teacher abusing Allison, or else Tom would give the friend a bad grade. Allison meets him for a barbecue in the backyard and doesn't say a word. Why doesn't she ask Tom, why did you say that to my friend? Did you cover for my abuser? Why did you try to hush my friend up? Is it because you are an abuser yourself?" We see him on a zoom later, being interviewed by Allison's associate, I think, where he says "I don't remember that." The associate has no follow up , such as "It's odd to me that you say you don't remember it, rather than say, I would never say that to a student!" I gave it a 6 only because it is an important subject to bring to light and the women were courageous in putting their story out there.