This movie is grounded in reality and it’s a shame we can’t award it our Dove Seal! But the language is quite strong in spots, mainly used by an angry man who abused his wife and now carries on the practice with his daughter, Lily (Dakota Fanning). Dakota Fanning is amazing in this picture. Her talent shines above her young years. Queen Latifah is also dead on in this film as August Boatwright. Her two sisters are named after months as well, May and June. The story takes place in 1964.

Lily needs to know if her mother, who died when Lily was four, truly loved her as she doesn’t believe her father does. He sure doesn’t give her any reason to think otherwise. He tells her that her mother left for awhile and only returned to pick up her things, not Lily, when she was tragically killed. Lily leaves and goes in search of the truth. There is one location she believes holds the key to the locked door of what really happened, and Lily finds her way there along with a young black woman who had served as a maid for the family.

Lily encounters August and her two sisters and she begins to feel as though she is part of a family for the first time. She also begins to unravel the mystery concerning her mother and if she really wanted her or not. This film deals with abuse and racism and some racial terms are used. The story also focuses on the need for people to feel loved. It is a shame that the strong language was included in the movie, which prevents us from awarding our Dove Seal to the film.