This is a lot I don’t even know where to start.

First of all, I can’t help noticing the accent that Julianne Moore made for her character Gracie. It just brings out a sense of naivety and seduction so naturally. In consideration of the implication that she was sexually abused by her two older brothers (btw even though she denied it but I still think it was true), it’s really hard to tell whether she is acting dumb to either keep Joe from leaving her or run away from the reality, or just stuck at the age of 12.

It’s the same case for Joe who has definitely stopped growing mentally since 13 years old. He seems to be the actual child compared to his high-school son (from that rooftop scene). He has been seriously traumatized and it’s so heartbreaking to see that. Just imagine what if it’s a 36yo man and a 13yo teenage girl and you will see how sick this relationship has always been. It definitely is not love, at least not from Joe to Gracie, and most likely it’s not love from Gracie to Joe, maybe she just love the feeling of control, of getting hold of something less powerful than herself.

And that solo shot of Natalie Portman reading the letter Gracie wrote to Joe just shocked me… her imitating that accent Julianne made for Gracie… （套娃了）one of the best acting I have seen…

Still processing… oh right, the sexual tension between them when Julianne is doing Natalie’s makeup is so overwhelming I literally held my breath during that scene…

“She won’t bite. She’s not that kind of snake.”