While watching this film, I began to suspect that this film might be an autobiographical piece by Actor/Director Mortonson. The girl who plays Lucy looks like she could be Mortonson, and I was aware that Mortonson was of Irish decent. Turns out I was correct, to some extinct, Mortenson confesses in the Special Features. She grew up in homes just like the one in the film, until the age of 16, but says was more like the "Lauren" character, than Lucy. In UnLoved, eleven year old Lucy lives with her abusive father, until going to school one day and asking to "speak with my Social Worker, please?" after her father has just beat her with a belt for coming home without either the money and/or cigarettes he sent her out to get. Though the father is played by renowned actor (until Stargate Universe) Robert Carlyle, it is a bit part. He is only shown is flashbacks after the initial beating and then a five minute bit afterward. This film will surely be hard to take for some. There are no happy endings, only more harsh realities...or, perhaps not? Mortenson says she wanted to give the audience the sense of hope. That wasn’t what I came away with, but then that may have more to do with my own life rather than Lucy’s. Take from it what you get, but I guarantee, whatever that is, you won’t regret having seen this film.

posted Apr 4, 2012 at 2:14PM

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