
#Like
By Brian Costello,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Intense thriller about cyberbullying has violence, language.

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#Like
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What's the Story?
In #LIKE, Rosie Danvers (Sarah Rich) seems to be a happy teenager -- a cheerleader with good friends and an active social life. But at home, her father is long gone, her mother struggles with depression, and it was one year ago when her younger sister Amelia hung herself in her closet after a cyberstalker sent a picture in which she flashed her breasts to all of her classmates, who bullied and tormented her into taking her own life. On the one-year anniversary of her sister's death, Rosie visits Amelia's social media, and becomes even more determined to discover the identity of the cyberstalker who did this and bring him to justice. However, the police and the laws on the books are no help. Frustrated and angry, Rosie eventually figures out Amelia's old password, logs onto her social media, and immediately receives a message from the cyberstalker. She tries to track down his IP address and identity, but to no avail, and so all she has to go on is a vague location as to where he lives, his taste in music, and a catchphrase he says online. Later, while outside a convenience store, Rosie overhears a man (Marc Menchaca) using the catchphrase who pulls into the parking blasting the kind of music the cyberstalker likes. She follows him to a park, where it looks like he's taking pictures of kids with his phone. Convinced that this is the man who drove her younger sister to suicide, Rosie hatches an elaborate plot to get even, a plot that involves taking the man hostage and degrading him physically and psychologically until he confesses to his crimes. As her plan unfolds and Rosie sees the depths she's willing to go to get even, she must also confront the fact that she isn't 100% certain that the man she has taken hostage is the cyberstalker in question.
Is It Any Good?
There are some movies that are so unsettling and provocative, it's a foregone conclusion that they'll haunt one's thoughts for the weeks and months to come. #Like is one of those movies. It's a kind of cybervigilante revenge fantasy that explores the same murky gray morality explored in Dostoevski's Crime and Punishment, and like Roskolnikov, we see Rosie's descent into fevered madness precipitated by her increasing awareness that her taking on the roles of judge, jury, and executioner isn't as clear-cut as she had initially thought, even in a patriarchal society as flawed as the one conveyed in the movie. It's an unflinching look at the ravages of cyberstalking, cyberbullying, and real-life bullying, and the degree to which no one is innocent (in all senses of that word), and nearly everyone is complicit.
The acting is extraordinary, across the board. The teens come across as actual teens, in all of their hubris, innocence, cruelty, and innate hyper-awareness and skepticism of the adult world around them. As "The Man" who is taken prisoner, Marc Menchaca reveals just enough to present a character who might be creepy enough to be the actual cyberstalker responsible for the suicide of Rosie's younger sister, but gradually reveals a third dimension to the character that may suggest otherwise as more information is revealed. Not all of it works, and some parts of the story come across as shoehorned in to drive home the bigger messages the movie is trying to communicate, but overall, this is an unforgettable movie that should inspire deep reflection and discussion.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the topics addressed in #Like. Do you think the movie accurately reflected contemporary realities for tweens and teens -- on the internet, at school, and at home? Why or why not?
What are your thoughts on Rosie's actions and the consequences of these actions?
What are some of the ways in which the movie takes a strong feminist perspective?
Movie Details
- In theaters: March 9, 2019
- On DVD or streaming: January 26, 2021
- Cast: Sarah Rich , Marc Menchaca , Dakota Lustick
- Director: Sarah Pirozek
- Studio: Dame Work Inc.
- Genre: Drama
- Run time: 93 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: June 20, 2023
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