The Trailer:
Cast: Jamie Chung, Matt O'Leary, & Beau Bridges
Synopsis: After being captured by domestic human-traffickers, Eden (Jamie Chung) aligns herself with her captors in order to survive.
Let me first start off by stating that though there is controversy over whether the events that take place in the movie are actually based on real-life events, I will not comment on that aspect. I am simply going to review the movie as though it were a work of complete fiction, okay? Okay. Let's move on.
Eden is a a terrifying glance at the horrors of sex-trafficking on American soil, because that for sure is a sad reality. I was definitely appreciative that the people doing the sex-trafficking were shown to be well-to-do Americans rather than scary-looking foreigners as with most movies made on this topic: it is an eye-opener, especially those who refuse to believe that such atrocities can happen here in the land of the free.The tone throughout the film is bleak, desolate and isolating. But it is also a story of bravery, endurance, and ultimately triumph. Jamie Chung does a fantastic job as Eden, a naive girl who finds herself in the midst of a prostitution ring: she is young but she is also determined and realizes that in order to win her freedom, she is going to have to do things she isn't proud of and give it some time. In fact, all the actors do a phenomenal job at the characters they're playing. Especially Matt O'Leary as the junkie controller of all the girls in this particular prostitution ring, because though he is mostly cruel he is also somewhat kind towards his charges. Beau Bridges as the dirty police chief is also an interesting and cruel character portrayal that I thought was done perfectly. Aside from the great acting, the setting is also a great asset. The warehouse that the girls are kept in is dismal and dark, but also a a well-oiled machine. With the girls hygiene of utmost importance and an on-site doctor and/or nurse to do regular check-ups, you have to wonder why any of the people working there of their own will chose to do so? Like the nurse lady, why is she working there when it's obvious she has real medical knowledge? Why agree to be a part of a business that is selling underage girls? I just don't get it. But I guess these questions could be asked of real sex-traffickers, and there probably isn't a sufficient answer. Though the movie is fairly good throughout, there is some time in the middle where is seems to drag on for awhile, seemingly without direction, but it does pick up in the end during Eden's escape.
I was enthralled from start to finish with this movie and was sincerely anxious as to whether Eden was going to escape or simply become a true piece in the machine that robbed her of her life. I had true heartache for Eden and her predicament. And while yes, I am not sure of the validity of the story behind the movie, I am sure that it has opened discussion of the very real problem of sex-trafficking here in America. Would I watch this again? Maybe, but not for a long while.
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