One of the criticisms lodged against this moving film is that towards its end the actions of the adults are not believable. I actually found it very believable. The best friends' parents are advised that if they do not either return the abused boy to his parents or go to the police they could be accused of kidnapping, or even worse, the father could say that when his son left the house he was fine, and it was they who inflicted the marks on his childs' body. shocking and unjust as this may seem, the reality is - and, as a victim of child abuse, i feel quite qualified in saying this - that even though the law states otherwise, children are often powerless to fight abuse. For instance: once when I was beaten by my stepfather I ran to the police station and told them what had happened. The police called my parents, asked them if what I was saying was true, my staepdad told them i was making up stories, that i had fallen off my bike and was lying because I was angry about having to do my homework. The police took me home and I was promptly beaten for almost getting him into trouble. So... in Pellet, the best friends fathers fears of legal repercussions for intervening were actually, in my opinion, justified.
Review of Pellet
