Overview
A woman's journey into her past reveals unsettling truths about her childhood.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- confronting
- disturbing
- intimate
- serious solo viewing
- discussion group
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film for handling extraordinarily challenging subject matter with sensitivity, grace, and remarkable lead performances, especially Laura Dern.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Jennifer's childhood recollections repeatedly shift as she reads her old story, interviews witnesses, and reconstructs events.
Jennifer imagines conversations with her thirteen-year-old self while trying to understand the relationship with Mrs. G and Bill.
Jennifer's search for former campers and the coaches becomes an inward examination of how she survived and narrated the past.
Present-day interviews and investigations interweave with dramatized encounters and imagined conversations from Jennifer's past.
Films like The Tale, and why
Mysterious Skin
shared autobiographical drama, traumatic memory, and emotionally confronting examination of childhood abuse
The Act of Killing
shared fragmented memory, self-reckoning, and psychologically intense investigation of buried trauma
The Assistant
shared female-centered psychological drama, difficult subject matter, and intimate confrontation with past harm
Movie Details
- Director
- Jennifer Fox
- Release Date
- 2018-01-20
- Runtime
- 115 min
- Rating
- 7.1 / 10 (487)
Cast
- Laura Dern
- Isabelle Nélisse
- Elizabeth Debicki
- Jason Ritter
- Frances Conroy
- John Heard
- Ellen Burstyn
- Laura Allen
- Matthew Rauch
- Jessica Sarah Flaum
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Tale about?
- A documentarian’s search through a childhood story exposes the unstable memories and buried abuse behind a formative relationship.
- What is The Tale like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Tale as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Tale violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in The Tale.
- What did critics think of The Tale?
- Critics broadly praised the film for handling extraordinarily challenging subject matter with sensitivity, grace, and remarkable lead performances, especially Laura Dern.
- Which films are like The Tale?
- Films with a similar feel include Mysterious Skin, The Act of Killing, and The Assistant.
- How long is The Tale?
- The Tale runs 115 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Tale?
- In United States, The Tale streams on HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max.
