The Tale
Short description
Jennifer Fox wrote and directed this drama, which centres on a successful journalist and professor living in New York. When her mother comes across a story Jennifer wrote at thirteen, describing a relationship with two adult coaches, the discovery pushes her to compare that early account with her own recollections of the same summer. The differences between the two versions lead her to seek out the men involved and to confront how she has understood her first sexual relationship.
Laura Dern plays the adult Jennifer, with Isabelle Nélisse as her thirteen-year-old self and Elizabeth Debicki and Jason Ritter as the coaches. The cast also includes Frances Conroy and John Heard, among 33 credited performers. Fox drew on her own experience for the screenplay, and the film was released in 2018, running 115 minutes.
On IMDb, the film holds a critics' rating of 9 out of 10 from 81 reviews, while audiences on TMDB rate it 7.1 out of 10 from 484 votes, a gap that suggests strong critical admiration alongside more measured viewer response. The production was a collaboration between German and American companies, including ZDF, ARTE, Untitled Entertainment and Gamechanger Films.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film is based on the recollections of screenwriter and director Jennifer Fox.
- Given the nature of the plot, all potentially indecent scenes involving a child were actually filmed with an adult double, as indicated in the end credits. Furthermore, Isabelle Nélisse's mother (who played young Jenny), a child psychologist, and a representative of the Screen Actors Guild were present on set. In the scene where it appears Nélisse is lying down, she was actually standing next to a vertically positioned bed.
- Most films have one editor, but this one had three.
- All potentially suggestive scenes involving the child were filmed using an adult body double. The mother of Isabel Nelliss (who played young Jenny), a child psychologist, and a representative of the Screen Actors Guild were present on set. In the scene where it appears Nelliss is lying down, she was actually standing next to a vertically positioned bed.
- The film's director, Jennifer Fox, did meet with the mother of the main character; Bill, played by Jason Ritter, declined to meet her in person but communicated with her repeatedly by phone. The film's plot is based on these meetings and conversations.
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