Review of Flower (2017) by Dave M — 24 Mar 2018

I personally loved this movie. In my opinion, Winkler isn't trying to glorify Erica's behavior. Yes, she's showcased as a strong female, and she absolutely is that. Erica gets what Erica wants, and she'll do whatever it takes to get it.

I genuinely believe she is sometimes well-meaning, but as you said, she was also raised in a culture that is desensitized to porn, and that has told her that the ability to sexually manipulate men is something that should be celebrated and used to her advantage.

And so that's what she does. Despite the obvious affection between Erica and her mother, Erica has virtually no useful adult supervision. She climbs in and out of windows, and doesn't appear to ever go to school.

Adam Scott's character asks Erica whether her parents ever ask where she is, but the answer is no, they don't, and that's part of the problem. Her mom tells her that she has agency over her own decisions despite how unwise they are.

Her mom offers her money to do things instead of just expecting Erica to do what she's told. All of this has created an individual who is willing to do just about anything for money, including offering to blow her own future stepbrother.

Her body is just currency to be spent, and a "dick is just a thumb without a fingernail". By the end, Erica has realized that the father she reveres is really just a man who couldn't care less about her, and didn't even bother to give her a call when he got out of prison.

The end might appear to be a kind of happiness, but I don't think it is, and I don't think it's supposed to be. It's just an example of what happens when kids are raised in an oversexed culture that glorifies money, technology, and individuality no matter the cost.

By the end, Erica has just transferred her daddy issues onto another man, an individual who it is safe to admire because he is now in jail. To me this movie is just a beautifully lit tragedy, but I thought it was incredibly well done.