Katie Says Goodbye

Definitely not for everyone, and I wouldn't say I enjoyed it. But it's well made, and Olivia Cooke gives a once-in-a-lifetime performance.

all things considered, I have to go back to "Baghdad café" to find the same treatment of the atmosphere, the characters and the same emotions, (can sometimes be awkwardly excessive) special mention for Olivia Cooke, a great actress pity for those who did not understand the end.

My star rating is for Olivia Cooke, who keeps your eyes riveted on her throughout. It's not about beauty or sexiness; it's a type of magnetism that's hard to explain. Hopefully, she will be in some better films in the future. Not that this one is all bad, it's just that it's so grim that it becomes overwhelming. It's like the writer kept thinking, "OK, what terrible thing can I do to her next?" It's a film that aims for hard core realism, yet it's totally unrealistic. Katie's unrelenting naivete is unrealistic; the nasty men are unrealistic; the school teacher, the cop, the landlord, the mother--Good grief, this has to be the most evil town in cinema history. Even the one decent guy, played convincingly by Jim Belushi, is not entirely without culpability. Mary Steenburgen fares well as a caring surrogate mother figure, in contrast to all the detestable people in Katie's life. Watch this one with skepticism, and don't expect a happy ending. But keep an eye out for Olivia Cooke. She can really act.

It's heavy themes may not be handled in the most careful way, but its emotional story and Olivia Cooke's superb lead performance make this film worth watching.

Cooke is brilliant in an otherwise pedestrian movie.She eats up the landscape with a look on the bright side of life even when being put through hell.Her performance is worth the watch.

A lot of critics are being myopic, if not outright hypocritical, about their reviews, apparently depending on where the film comes from and whether their white/West privileged guilt kicks in or not. To bash "Katie Says Goodbye" (which, granted, isn't so good) as being 'nearly 90 minutes of terrible things happening to the protagonist', or saying 'the lead character is so utterly guileless and innocent and kindhearted -- she's essentially a smiley face with a "KICK ME" sign taped to her back while heaping nothing but praise on "House of Hummingbird" is absurd bs. "HoH" is just as relentlessly miserable as "Katie...", but it's even more troubling and a friggin' bummer. So that makes it that much better, that's it's more depressing and worse to the lead? Both are movies with the same issues that could've been solid, impressive films, imo.

{ SPOILERS AHEAD} This was movie was great, and the people giving it bad reviews saying the ending sucked, obviously didn't get it. Katie has beautiful spirit, even after all the horrible crap that happens to her, she doesn't let it break her, she doesn't let what has happened to her define her. She picks herself up and keeps looking forward. She does get justice in the end as well. Her rapist is dead, her asshole boyfriend is back in prison where he belongs, and the POS mom is screwed, because Katie will no longer be there to take care of her after dude dumps her sorry ass. Now Katie gets to ride off into the sunset, free, with the only man that truly loves her. You see? It does have a happy ending.

Slut-Shaming: The Movie! I think Kimber Myers of the times said it best: "Torture porn is kinder to its victims than 'Katie Says Goodbye' is to its heroine."

Every minute somewhere a flower gets crushed. "Katie Says Goodbye" gives us a glimpse of life through the lens of a crushed flower. Kudos to everyone involved in making this movie.

Brilliant film - surprised it did not win an Oscar. Very well acted, simple theme, complex characters. Very well done.