In July 2022, I watched The Poker House for the first time on the television set. The drama was released in 2008 and was done six years later in Japan. It was scripted and directed by Lori Petty. It was also based on Petty's experiences in her middle teens. Jennifer Lawrence stars it. Chloë Grace Moretz also acted in it.
It depicts one day of the life of Agnes who used to live with her violent father, lives in a brothel with her mother and two little sisters, and have harsh experiences with her sisters.
My father always threatened my families with his
physical strength and employed brute force against us in a bad mood
without hesitation, so I had always thought of myself as unhappy, however, one
day I knew that the father of my friend in my high-school days was like my
father. Then I gradually realized that a lot of children were more unhappy than
me after I left my families, started to live myself and heard various stories
from people who I met and the mass media reporting about actual child abuse
cases. Moreover, I knew Agness who is the oldest of three sisters in the movie.
Considering that she was in the middle of her youth, it was really sad that she
was raped but her mother did not even console her just after that, what was worse, she coldly handle her daughter. Nevertheless, Agnes grew without being corrupted afterwards. What a wonderful
young woman!
I believe that announcing a true story like
that is a good thing. Parents who cannot love their children surely exist. It
is risky to blindly believe that every parent loves their children from the
bottom of their heart. Many children cannot say what they want to do in reality
due to the belief.
Jennifer Lawrence passionately and
wonderfully performed the role of Agnes whose character is based on the experiences in the youth
of the director, Lori Petty. As for Sarah, Agnes' mother, considering that a human's
true colors show when the worst happens, she was bad because she did not really
care for her oldest daughter, though she deserved some sympathy, for she could
not help selling herself for money and indulging in alcohol and drugs.