I think that it's important to be able to separate the intention of the filmmakers and the importance of the issue from how effective the film actually is.
This movie follows a white, middle-class girl who is sold(?!) to a pimp by a group of her (white, upper-class) classmates. She endures 8 days of captivity as her family works to rescue her.
I think that child sex trafficking is a very important issue and one that should have a higher profile in our country. But the version presented in this film, while not impossible, is certainly an anomaly. Kidnapping a clean-cut middle class white teenage girl (who has zero substance abuse issues and very minimal teenager conflict with her family) is simply not a good strategy for a sex trafficker. We aren't talking about something like the Elizabeth Smart case where the victim is locked away in a cellar or something by a single kidnapper. These people are staying in a hotel. She is seeing (according to the voice over) almost 7 different men each day. Her photo and name are plastered all over the news and on fliers around town.
A much better representation of child sex trafficking come from the other girls. Sugar, who is sold by her mother and BB, a runaway who falls in with the wrong crowd. These girls truly have no one on their side. No one is looking for them. Their names and faces never made it to the local news, much less a missing poster. They represent the kind of sex trafficking that has happened in my community.
I was also frustrated at times by the portrayal of the process of finding her. This film continues the misconception that you have to wait 2 full days to report someone missing. You do not!! In another scene the mother of the missing girl nods along when a family friend says "All we can do is pray." Um, what?! How about canvasing? Talking to the other kids at the party? Posting to any and every social media platform? Fundraising a reward for information? We are later vaguely told that the HSI uses an "online search" to look for Amber. The portrayal of finding a missing person is muddled and confusing.
Again: this is a really important issue. By chance I recently watched the film Holly which also addressed child sex trafficking (albeit on an international level). This is something that needs to be brought to the forefront. But I felt the specific story told in this film came off as implausible and confused. I appreciate the intentions of the filmmakers but implying that never letting your 16 year old daughter go to a party is the solution feels misguided.
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