what happens to the little girl megan??? - Look (2008) Discussion

[–] goodellaa 17 years ago

She's gone.
Yep, that guy was and idiot. In real life I think teachers get given information about the potential consequences of dumb actions. Those consequenses came as a bit of a shock to the average viewer, I think. The law may not be written like that in real life.

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[–] youaresquishy 14 years ago

I looked it up on a couple of websites, and I think the law in California says that where the victim is younger than 16 and the perpetrator is older than 21, it can be charged either as a misdemeanor which carries a maximum sentence of one year, or as a felony which could carry a sentence of either 2, 3, or 4 years.

See, e.g., http://www.criminalattorney.com/blog/california-statutory-rape/

or

http://www.cga.ct.gov/2003/olrdata/jud/rpt/2003-r-0376.htm

I could do some actual legal research and find out the most up-to-date answer but I'm feeling lazy right now and this sounds about right to me. Things may have changed slightly since these articles at the above websites were published, but not so dramatically that consensual statutory rape carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years.

10 years as a minimum sentence seemed out of proportion because it actually is. I'm not sure what the minimum sentence is, but it couldn't be more than the maximum. It could be possible that the minimum is closer to no jail time at all, at least if it were prosecuted as a misdemeanor. And I'm sure the reason there is so much variation in how it can be prosecuted and the sentences available is that some statutory rapes can seem a lot worse than others, like statutory rapes that are actually against the victim's will, drug-assisted, etc., as opposed to ones where a confused 15-year old throws herself at her teacher.

I think it's true that he would have trouble finding a teaching job again, and it's true that he would have a tough time getting more than supervised visitation with his kids while incarcerated and probably for some time afterwards, but I think it's weird that the film maker decided to inflate the minimum sentence for statutory rape in California so much. I think it would have been dramatic enough if he got any jail time, lost his job without much hope of working in his field again, lost his wife, and had trouble seeing his kids.

It kind of took me out of the film a bit, but that may be mostly because I'm a lawyer. Although I'm not a criminal lawyer, so in that way I'm just like anyone else, my intuitions told me that 10 years as a minimum sentence for that couldn't be right. It made me want to get the film over with so I could go look it up.

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[–] adam-603 17 years ago

SHE WAS MURDERED.

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[–] robotbrian 17 years ago

who cares? this movie s u c k e d

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[–] jreiser-1 17 years ago

I think we're supposed to assume that because Joe/Marty apparently got away with it, we can also assume that Megan is in a ditch somewhere.

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[–] madsic 16 years ago

blue beach hat is awesome defense against them cameras

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[–] umme4uke 16 years ago

He was acting like a full on pedo in predator mode when he was stalking the little girl - I doubt she is in a ditch but I doubt she is happy either. Was a very gut wrenching ending I thought - blue hat man was still being ridiculed but he was the most cruel character in the film.

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[–] OneTrueBroad 16 years ago

I think that just as in real life, while CCTV catches ALMOST everything we do in public, it doesn't catch it all and so the film ends with CCTV being of very little help identifying who took the girl but was very effective in identifying and helping capture the other villains, as well as exhonerating the innocent ones (eg. the bag on the bus incident).

For me the film leaves it at the point the girl may be alive or she may be dead. Nobody knows except her abductor. The fact is CCTV couldn't and didn't resolve it either way, just as happens in reality sometimes, and so it shows CCTV's flaws as well as its many useful purposes. And also, of course, its over-use.

The woman in the car boot is also left as an unresolved matter although given that the noise she made only lasted a short time and nobody rescued her I'm supposing she suffocated to death. For me that was more surprising - that a car could lie abandoned like that for so long, captured on CCTV, and it wasn't even checked out by security or the police. I think in reality that would have been picked up on sooner or maybe again, it's just showing that CCTV can't solve everything. Although it catches us doing the most mundane things in life when it comes to life or death situations it often lets us down (or rather the controllers behind the CCTV do) and for me the movie did a good job pointing that out.

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[–] madsic 16 years ago

awesome point OneTrueBroad, I agree

on a different note, am I the only one who knew RIGHT AWAY there wasn't going to be a bomb in that bag? That whole scene was wasted. I found the rest of the movie really interesting but that set of scenes ruined it.

It was the director being all moral about it "ah ha you all thought there would be a bomb because you are all secret racists!! he was only going to university!!"

I mean the second that guy went to the bus driver we all knew there could never be a bomb or the director would of been the racist right?

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[–] Tweck 16 years ago

I think it's less than to directly incriminate the viewer as a racist for expecting the backpack to have a bomb in it, and more just to point out that our initial ideas and perceptions of things are often incorrect.

I think the scene was meant to point out something about our collective fears and how they're often incorrect. You could call it ingrained racism, but I think we're all just very confused and frightened, and that's probably more what he's trying to say.

I think the scene played out in a manner close to reality, at least in the actions of the people. I too suspected it wasn't a bomb immediately, and would have been surprised had it actually been one, as that would have undermined the ability to provide a realistic message about our fear-tainted perceptions.

I also enjoyed the contrast between the potential of the bomb, and actuality of the school books. Destruction vs. learning, though a little obvious, as metaphor to underscore the exploration of stereotyping and fear.

It also didn't imply that the peoples' fear was unfounded - only not correct in this instance.

Which is another thing I liked about the movie - in unearthing the seedy underbelly of our "perfect" little society, the director doesn't get heavy handed in his messages, doesn't really cast blame in a moralistic way, and even treats his most depraved characters sympathetically at points, further exploring the confused way in which people behave, and how you never really know what goes on under the surface, or what people are capable of.

Though the overt nihilism of the movie undermined the potential to actually cast some of the characters in a good light, which I think was its eventual downfall as a reflection of reality... The only truly "good" characters were the convenience store clerk / aspiring musician, and the middle eastern guy. Everyone else was secretly mean, evil, perverted, or just morally weak. But hey, maybe that is a reflection of reality, I don't know.

Wow, I really went off on a tangent here. This movie makes one think.

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[–] mk1 16 years ago

I wasn't being racist at all. In fact, I didn't understand why there was such ominous music surrounding that guy until the gay black man told the bus driver about the backpack. He looked pretty normal to me.

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[–] badass_drummer 16 years ago

I'm a teacher, so I can say something about the seduction stuff. Every teacher knows the consequences of having relations with a minor. Teachers have it harder than most since they come in contact with 1000+ high schoolers per day, but if you have enough self-control, you won't have a problem. I've had high school girls tell me they had crushes on me after they graduate, and I pretty much say "I know, now you're graduated, go away". A guy like this just isn't mentally strong enough to stand up for himself.

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[–] childer_orion700 13 years ago

When the cop approached the guy at the end I knew it wasn't to arrest him. There will never be just 1 cop sent to arrest someone, especially a suspected murderer of children, it will be more like 30.

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[–] Mrr_MovieBuff 15 years ago

OneTrueBroad pretty much summed it all up. If the crime was done in public then theres a 4/5 chance that CCTV can tell you who did it but @ the same time cant solve the crime for you. But yah, i kinda would still like to know what happened to the girl and the lady in the trunk. I assume that yah they are both dead but idk. In reverse i also see alot of stupidity in the film. Like no matter what age as long as you can talk most children know not to walk away with some stranger without telling your parent or whoever is with you and i couldnt tell the exact make and model of that car the lady was in but why didnt she start kicking towards the seat. (assuming that it wasnt completely metal) More stupidity is the teacher who offered to give the girl a ride w/o offering to look @ the car first. I mean if you know an underage girl is coming on to you then you automatically have to assume that she is saying w/e she can to get you and her alone. I think he actually wanted to do her IMO but idk. Then theres the guy that worked @ the gas station. Why was he allowed to work there for so long. Doesnt the boss come in and have to change the tapes after a few days or something like that. I mean he got caught on camera saying how he was giving his friend free chips and stuff so wtf is up with that. All in all it was a good thought provoking movie and yes i do wonder about all of holes in the plot.

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[–] sd619rules 15 years ago

The ending was awful-when you're left hanging it wrecks it in a show like this.

I presume the girl was killed b/c geek boy was not busted at the end--although we thought he would be when the cop showed up.

As for the owman in the truck-if she was REALLY parked at a Big Box retailer they would have had someone examining the car within 24 hours-if not sooner. Totally unrealistic and fake. And yes, it is presuemd she died.

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[–] bigcindy-1 16 years ago

I seen about the first 20 minutes of this movie and it looked pretty fake.

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[–] RevengeOfBobRoss 16 years ago

Of course it's fake. The back of the DVD box states that ACTORS are in it in a DRAMA DIRECTED by some guy. It never claims to be real footage.

No, we're not abandoning the gear! We're gonna pull the boat UP THAT MOUNTAIN!

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[–] hollywoodruffstar 15 years ago

I figured she was dead. Ironic, with the little negative comments her parents made about her.

The lesson I got from LOOK is that people don't. All that video, but sometimes they caught things and sometimes they didn't. The worst example was those two people who watched the man take the little girl but said they didn't see a thing.

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[–] chriscaulder 14 years ago

I sure hope Megan survived...... though I seriously doubt it.

Poor little girl. I found myself saying out loud (when the "cop" at the end came to Marty's cubicle)..... "get him!" "GET HIM!"

And when the "cop" does his thing...... well, that really depressed me.

Someone in a previous post wrote that the point is, cameras get everything, but we don't always "look" and see what's really going on.

By the way, wouldn't Marty have been caught when he took off his hat and introduced himself to Megan? You could clearly see his face, glasses, and hair, even though most of the footage showed only the back of his head.

Surely they got that piece of footage.......

I know it's just a movie, but Rifkin really, really should have ended ie like this--

"Cop" shows up to his desk. Action ensues. Cut to another scene of Mr. Krebbs in prison or something... then cut to Marty's desk again on another day.... another cop approaches his desk...... fade out.... or something like that.

I really wish we had proof that Megan was/is ok.

Damn you, Rifkin!!

Great film, nonetheless.

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[–] cafesmitty 14 years ago

SPOILERS!

Just saw the film and it is disturbing. The cameras at the mall are unattended, but are there in a "just in case" thing. They can review the camera and all they are going to have is a guy in a hat. I think we aren't meant to know what happened to the little girl, but kids disappear without ever been seen or heard from again. I think that is the point the director was trying to make. That is not all neatly wrapped up in a bow like CSI or a regular movie would have it.

The story I found the most fascinating was the teacher and the student. I thought, here is a guy, doing something completely stupid and his life is forever ruined because he gave in. She may have lied about the event, she may have forced the situation, she may even have come on as strong as she did, but it was him whose life is ruined forever. How many people find themselves in THAT situation. I like the fact that he is sent away from a long time and don't have the a bit of sympathy for him.

I thought the bus thing was interesting because we are now in that society where we are encourage to report things like this. I don't think race has anything to do with it. Having served in the military and worked in specialized areas, you are taught to treat every abandon package as potentially harmful and in this case, they did the right thing.

I wanted so so so badly for the dude to get caught before he stole that little girl... I hated that story.

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[–] BloomingLilac 14 years ago

I just wanted to add that I believe the little girl and the woman in the trunk were more than likely dead, but the director intentionally left us wondering.

The convenience store clerk would have been fired within a couple of days (realistically). I know this because I worked at a convenience store. There was a camera right above the cash register and at least two more with different angles (to watch customers as well). I had to change the tape when I opened the store. Even though I never did anything dishonest and didn't talk trash about how the place was "a dump"/curse, etc., I still felt aware of those cameras and that was enough to make me nervous. I began to worry that there was a camera in the powder room but I think I was just being paranoid.

The scene in which the girls are filmed naked in the dressing room really upset me. I think it should be a criminal offense to film people in a setting like that and I do hope there aren't any cameras where I can be seen disrobing.

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