Melissa P. This was a fantastic piece of writing, it went from sweet to wild to gruesome to anti-climax, to don't let it end like this, OK this is the end, no now this is the end, to All right this is the end, to finally somehow when all the pieces fit together the third act went from evidently ending at that low point for the protagonist and that's all right, because it was built like this, but then swoop, she is swept away and we think an angel saved this poor devil girl to a few more scenes which left the protagonist in a nice safe place with possibility for true love. The writing is incredible, I love the makeshift ablution scene that seemed like a sterling anti-climax for sure! haha, but no, we are saved, it was a wonderful tale, yes bad things happen but sometimes so can good things, just a wonderful piece of film-making, I guess this is based on memoirs but I'm upon the little fissures here and there wrought his special magic to really sharpen the narrative, just stunning, striking! 'Oh Melissa, you're in my dreams, you're with me every day, Oh Melissa, could that really be your voice I hear? Too soon for you and I the priest took your sacrifice and sent you to the other side!' Mercyful Fate, lol

Based on a controversial novel, this coming-of-age drama from 'A Bigger Splash' director Luca Guadagnino focuses on a fifteen year old girl who begins to sexually experiment in unconventional and degrading ways. María Valverde is well cast in the title role and wearing negligible makeup, Geraldine Chaplin looks at least a decade older than her actual age in a memorable turn as Valverde's feisty, free-spirited grandmother. Interesting as Valverde is to follow around, there are some gaps in her character progression. At times, it seems like she is acting out as a result of being rebuffed by her high school crush with at least a couple of points in which she agrees to do things to prove that she is "not a baby". And yet, it is what happens to her grandmother that actually initiates her quest, and try as the film does, it has trouble finding a balance between being about grief and societal pressures. There is also something to be said for the lack of graphic imagery. Most of her exploits are told to us via diary entries and while this has the advantage of leaving it up to one's imagination to fill in the blanks, everything that occurs resonates less since we only ever see fleeting glimpses of her quest. Curiously enough, even with the explicit content kept to a minimum, the film has still sparked some controversy. It is certainly not a film for all tastes and its low IMDb rating is only representative of just how divisive a movie it is. 'Melissa P.' is hardly a flawless motion picture, but there is more of interest to it than one might expect.

I saw very little of the book in this film, this is not to say that this alone makes for a poor movie. As a matter of fact it was better that the book despite the fact that I still thought it was awful. I personally feel that the only reason any one bothered to make this book into a film was because of the shock value. Melissa's sexual exploits were for the most part disgusting and whatever was left over was disturbing. I'm not prude but that book nauseated me, and the movie wasn't much better. At least the movie had some kind of a story. The book was more or less a detailed list of all the raunchy things she had done in her past, there was no connection between her and any part of her family. No mention of the grandmother that figures quite largely into the movie's plot, not a peep. All in all if you have the choice between the movie or the book pick the movie, at least it is shorter.