There's not too much to recommend here, except that JODIE FOSTER was always an interesting actress, even as a young girl, but the story could have been much more gripping and taut with suspense.
She never seemed to play the wholesome types, and this is no exception. She's a bright thirteen year-old, living ostensibly with her poet father in a seaside house, very adult in her manners and interests.
She doesn't like the snooping of others who ask too many questions about her quiet life in a house where her father is never seen. ALEXIS SMITH (her landlady) and MARTIN SHEEN (her lecherous son) are among those who do ask too many questions and threaten her isolated and very private existence. Like Miss Foster, their performances are just fine.
All of this keeps the audience interested in finding out what has happened to her father--and what are the dark secrets she is hiding. There are a few unexpected plot twists, but most of the story is told in a very understated way in a style that is not likely to connect with today's audiences who want films with a faster pace.
However, there is a certain subtlety to the proceedings and it does get under your skin if you let yourself fall under the spell of some very good acting. It seems like ideal material for Alfred Hitchcock, who, in this very same year, came up with his poorly received FAMILY PLOT. By comparison, this one rates more attention.
For me, the highlight of the story came when Foster confronts her angry landlady, played in fine form by the still lovely Alexis Smith. Their tense confrontation is well staged and beautifully acted.
She never seemed to play the wholesome types, and this is no exception. She's a bright thirteen year-old, living ostensibly with her poet father in a seaside house, very adult in her manners and interests.
She doesn't like the snooping of others who ask too many questions about her quiet life in a house where her father is never seen. ALEXIS SMITH (her landlady) and MARTIN SHEEN (her lecherous son) are among those who do ask too many questions and threaten her isolated and very private existence. Like Miss Foster, their performances are just fine.
All of this keeps the audience interested in finding out what has happened to her father--and what are the dark secrets she is hiding. There are a few unexpected plot twists, but most of the story is told in a very understated way in a style that is not likely to connect with today's audiences who want films with a faster pace.
However, there is a certain subtlety to the proceedings and it does get under your skin if you let yourself fall under the spell of some very good acting. It seems like ideal material for Alfred Hitchcock, who, in this very same year, came up with his poorly received FAMILY PLOT. By comparison, this one rates more attention.
For me, the highlight of the story came when Foster confronts her angry landlady, played in fine form by the still lovely Alexis Smith. Their tense confrontation is well staged and beautifully acted.