Is Michelle's son 18 yet?
I really wish Michelle could spend some time with her son. She deserves that.
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MovieChat Forums > Cleveland Abduction (2015) Discussion > Is Michelle's son 18 yet?
The part of the movie where she was told the adoptive parents refused contact really made me cry . I understand her reasoning for not pursuing custody, she truly is an exceptional person, but I just can't grasp why his adoptive parents would want to further prolong her pain. She never gave up custody and wasn't asking for custody, she just wanted to see her child. It's a very delicate and difficult situation, but it's one that she did not ask for. I can't help but feel that his adoptive parents are a little evil for doing that but at the same time I think they obviously want to protect him and they didn't ask to be put in that situation either. I am really curious if they changed their mind after a while and if the child even knows who he is, if they refused to let her see him and she didn't fight them, they don't ever have to tell him, so he won't ask to see her, he may believe his mother abandoned him.
shareAt the very end of the movie, the FBI agent hands Michelle an envelope with a picture of Joey in it. I'm not sure whether that represents a restored photo of him as a 2 year old or whether it was a picture from his adoptive family.
Joshua 1:9 ... unashamed.
I'm pretty sure she's seen current photos of him, but she deserves to actually see him in person.
shareIt looked like a picture of a younger child, maybe one the agent was able to get from the state or adoption agency, at first I thought the adoptive parents finally were giving in a little but maybe not since it was a picture of a little boy not a 16yr old, could have just been the agent knew her captor destroyed the only picture she had, so he replaced it???
shareStrawberry, that part broke my heart. I am wondering if his adoptive parents gave him a choice or not. If not, I believe he was old enough to make that choice. I hope he does seek her out when he is old enough to have some sort of decent relationship with her. My heart really broke for her.
The beauty is I'm learning how to face my beast ~ Blue October
From the adoptive parents' perspective, I don't blame them at all for not wanting communication or their son to know who she is. He was only 16 at the time. I'm sure they just wanted their son to have a normal carefree life of any 16-year-old. If he had known, he'd probably feel responsible or guilty if he didn't spend more time with her or be by her side or whatever. That should not have been his burden. And let us not forget, Michelle had lost him before she went missing. And no matter what an incredible person Michelle has now become, it was pretty clear she never had much to offer him. Those parents raised him as their son; not someone just in keeping until his mother returned some day.
Now that he's older, I do hope she can have some kind of relationship with him. She has immeasurable things to offer now.
She was not stable when the state took him, she didn't even have enough money to take the bus to the appointment where she would plead her case. With that said, that doesn't mean that she wouldn't eventually get herself together and get him back. I have a family member who had the state step in, she was on drugs and one of her children had told a counselor that she was abused physically. My family member has never had a job (till this day). Her children were taken and placed with their paternal grandparents, she was given chance after chance after chance etc. to try and get them back. It was years before her custody was finally permanently taken. Michelle wasn't even on drugs or abusing her child and never got the opportunity to prove she could care for him, I think she really could have given a little time. Maybe I am biased because I was a young mother who managed to have my own (small) place, car and take care of my child on very little income (under $10 per hr), no state help either.
You are right that he was raised by the adoptive parents, my dad adopted me at 5yrs old and he is definitely my real father, but I am not in Joey's situation. Like I said before it's a delicate situation, but will Joey grow to resent his adoptive parents once he realizes what really happened to his mother?