One long caterwaul for mercy, ABUSE is a raw indictment of child abuse. Thanks to its sporadic awkwardness, the viewer is offered the respite of a certain aesthetic distance from its often stomach-churning themes and situations.
At St. Matthew's Hospital, an intern notifies Larry Porter (Richard Ryder), a thesis candidate in film, about a teenager who has been rushed to the emergency room with evidence of parental beating. Larry senses that this battered 14 year old, Thomas Carroll (Raphael Sbarge), could be the
centerpiece of his film about society's neglect of battered children.
Tentatively agreeing to meet Larry on Sundays, Thomas opens up to the older ga...
Released:
1996
Rated:
NR
Length:
93 mins