I’m not entirely sure how this film slipped under my radar for so long as it is exactly the kind of thing I enjoy, but I’m glad I caught it eventually.
There are three interlinked stories – all about the connections we make online, and the consequences.
In one, a couple (Paula Patton and Alexander Skaarsgard), ostensibly together but emotionally torn apart by the death of their child, have their identity stolen, and set out to find out who is responsible, with the prime suspect being the man who Cindy has connected with on an online forum for people who are bereaved.
Ben Boyd (Jonah Bobo), an outcast at his school, gets pranked by two schoolmates (Colin Ford and Aviad Bernstein), who create a fake online profile of a girl and fake a relationship with Ben, with disastrous consequences. Ben’s father Richard (Jason Bateman, great in a rare serious role) attempts to connect with Ben’s ‘girlfriend’ Jessica to see what might secrets his son was hiding, but in so doing finds himself becoming isolated from his wife.
The third story concerns a journalist (Andrea Riseborough) who is investigating a story about runaway teenage sex workers, who broadcast themselves committing indecent acts on the internet, but ends up getting too involved with the case of Kyle (Max Thieriot).
Each scenario demonstrates how online relationships can get in the way of real life relationships and cause people to disconnect from each other. At times the film is bleak – beyond bleak – and it doesn’t offer any easy answers or convenient endings – but it’s a stronger film for that. The characters are believable and in just under two hours, I came to care for a lot of them.
It’s a very relevant film with more and more people forging more and more relationships online to the expense of their real life connections – on countless occasions I have seen two people out for a meal or drink together, but both scrolling through their smartphones, and not actually speaking to each other.
If you get chance to see this hidden gem, I highly recommend it.
Between the Pages 
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