Yes. And here's the problem with modern romances like this. Stalker aspects aside, it's hard to get behind love stories
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londonviaparis — 9 years ago(June 01, 2016 09:36 PM)
Let's set aside the movie plot for a moment. If a man, good looking and wealthy or not, was this persistent with me after I clearly told him no numerous times, even if I was kind of attracted to him but didn't want to be with anyone, I'd be concerned. A lot of folks keep talking about what it was like "in their day", but that's neither here nor there. Rape, abuse, rape culture are all very real and something most women have in the back of their mind. I've never been in a situation that was frightening for me, but I once went to an all day event and there was a young man who decided he liked me. He waltzed up to me and introduced himself and chatted for a few minutes before I excused myself. That was fine, but later he asked me to dinner and I declined. He persisted and ever polite, I said no. For the rest of the day I would catch him watching me. That made me uncomfortable and I felt sick. He didn't cross any lines or say anything rude, but I didn't like being watched. Does that make me a cold b? I don't think so.
The behaviour Ellis displayed honestly led me to believe he would prove to be a "villain" in the film. I was shocked when he turned out to be her love interest. I was on edge the entire dinner scene at his place, especially after he threatened to pull the donation earlier. I thought he had slipped drugs into her drink. He tried giving her more wine when she said she was already tipsy. Heck, the fact that he had her come to his home instead of going out made it that much more difficult for her to extract herself if she needed to. He was pushy and it frightened me. Am I afraid of everything as these older folks commenting here seem to think? Absolutely not. Can I spot manipulate behaviours and potentially dangerous situations? Yes. You may have heard a news story a few days ago about some women who saw a man slip drugs into his dates drink. They warned the woman, and she said the man was a friend and coworker. Not only that, but prior to the date he had her come to his building and leave her car there so they could ride together. He had planned to make it difficult for her to refuse going home with him. Manipulation. Women aren't being paranoid witches. We're being cautious. When a woman is raped, the blame often falls on her. So excuse those of us who found Ellis' advances creepy. We know better. -
ficoce — 9 years ago(June 21, 2016 07:54 PM)
She, 109 years old and hadn't been laid in 40 years. He, an old fashioned romantic that brought flowers. Together, they went out and looked at old stuff together. Their idea of a wild weekend together was at the folks house playing Trivial Pursuit.Neither seemed to ever have a cell out looking for proper behaviour on social media, so were just as happy not knowing any better.
Using empirical evidence to spot a manipulative person? Sounds like a creep magnet. -
andrewpi7 — 9 years ago(September 14, 2016 12:00 AM)
The movie is listed as a drama and romance. The odds are more likely that some woman may believe everything Ellis did is real romance and if they play hard to get like Adaline then they will get the guy they want.
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AylaMM — 9 years ago(November 13, 2016 05:10 PM)
I thought this too. He was outrageously obsessive and possessive from the get-go, despite not even knowing her at all. Just based on seeing her, he decided "I must have her", giving her all sorts of unsolicited and unwelcome attention, stalking her, literally
CHASING
her. Insanely predatorial.
I don't get the people claiming "it's okay" or "women like it" or whatever the hell they're trying to suggest. They must be absolutely insane.
If an attractive man were to do this to me, I'd be extremely terrified, because
that man is probably used to getting what he wants
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ricky_says_hi — 9 years ago(November 30, 2016 03:29 AM)
I thought he was okay on the first watch but on the second I completely agree. He was probably meant to come across as endearingly romantic - but pretty much everything he did was stalky. The romance felt creepy because most of their meetings came from Ellis tracking her down and pursuing her. And the thing is that Adaline rebuffs him several times - and he still won't take no for an answer.
The movie's main flaw (despite still being good) is that it tries to present her and Ellis as some kind of great romance when they've only just met. Had it skipped ahead to them having been together for a while then maybe it would feel more natural. But Ellis just felt desperate, possessive and creepy. Part of the fault is Michiel Huisman's performance. He's trying way too hard to make Ellis seem cute and it's definitely not his thing. -
gcarras — 9 years ago(January 04, 2017 05:10 PM)
I'm a straight 56 year old male who loves this. But I also will admit your point: Blake's Adaline/Jenny even (when finding Michael Huisman's Ellis by her footsteps out town one night lectures him against looking for her phone #).
"And that's SHOWBIZkid."-Roxie Hart.
PROFILE PIC:Courtney Thorne-Smith.
MAGIC=Sarah Silverman. -