Shortly before he is to wed, millionaire John Willis is visited by Dr. Harry S. Blair, a psychiatrist who informs him that years before he was married to Nancy, John's wife-to-be, and warns him that she is mentally unbalanced.
Blair then relates the following story: After a whirlwind romance in Florida, Blair marries Nancy and starts a psychiatric practice in New York. One day, artist Norman Clyde comes to his office and tells him that an innocent man is about to be executed in Sing Sing Prison and that Nancy is the cause of his unjust incarceration. A distraught Clyde then explains himself to a curious Blair:
Three years before, Clyde meets Nancy, whose maiden name was Monks, when she enrolls in his art class. The moody Clyde soon falls in love with Nancy's honest charm and beauty. Nancy, a secretary, introduces Clyde to her boss, millionaire Andrew Bonner, and persuades Bonner to showcase Clyde's paintings at one of his private showings. To Nancy's delight, Clyde's painting, a depiction of the tragic figure Cassandra for which she modeled, wins first prize at the showing. The evening is perfect until an expensive bracelet is stolen from a guest, and Clyde later finds it in Nancy's purse. After Clyde confronts a confused Nancy about the theft, she relates the following story to explain her behavior:
As a young girl, Nancy lives with her housekeeper mother in the lavish Willis home and plays with Karen, the Willises' little daughter. Although Karen wants to invite Nancy to her upcoming birthday party, Mrs. Willis refuses to allow the lower-class Nancy to attend. A true friend, Karen promises to give Nancy one of the pins her guests are receiving. When Karen realizes there are no extra pins, however, she offers Nancy the beautiful locket she has just received from her mother. Nancy's subsequent joy is soon crushed when Mrs. Willis demands that she return the locket. Later, the locket is discovered missing, and Nancy is accused of theft. Although Nancy's mother soon finds the locket in Karen's dress, Mrs. Willis refuses to believe Nancy and forces her to "confess."
The adult Nancy then admits to Clyde that this childhood humiliation caused her unconscious desire to steal the bracelet at the party. After a forgiving Clyde returns the bracelet anonymously, he and Nancy continue their romance until the next party at the Bonners'. Suspecting that the absent Nancy is spending the evening in Bonner's arms, Clyde leaves the party to look for her and sees her exiting Mrs. Bonner's bedroom just after two gunshots are fired. Bonner is found murdered, and Mrs. Bonner's diamond necklace, stolen. Although Nancy and Clyde are questioned, valet Myron Dexter is eventually found guilty and is sentenced to die. Clyde, however, strongly suspects Nancy, but she angrily maintains her innocence and leaves for Florida.
Back in his office, Blair defends Nancy to Clyde but invites him to his house that evening. When confronted, Nancy denies everything and tells Blair that Clyde is merely jealous. The next day, Dexter is executed, and a guilt-ridden Clyde jumps from Blair's office window to his death.
To avoid scandal, Blair and Nancy move to England, and after World War II breaks out, Blair volunteers his medical services, while Nancy becomes an ambulance driver. Expressing concern over Blair's health, Nancy insists that they take a vacation at Lord and Lady Wyndham's manor house. Just as they are leaving, Blair learns that one of Lady Wyndham's valuable jewels has been stolen. Blair suspects Nancy but is unable to prove anything until a bomb destroys their flat and reveals her cache of stolen jewels.
Although confronted directly, Nancy continues to deny any guilt and divorces Blair after he suffers a nervous breakdown. Back in John's study, Blair, like Clyde before him, tries to convince John to abandon Nancy, who now uses the name Patton. John, however, believes Nancy when she tells him that Blair is still suffering from his breakdown.
Moments before the wedding is to start, Nancy's future mother-in-law, the unsuspecting Mrs. Willis, gives her the same locket that she once took away, and tells her that it is a precious family heirloom. The locket causes Nancy to be overcome with guilt, and she collapses at the altar in hysterics. As Nancy is later taken away to an institution, John sadly realizes the truth of Blair's story, but determines to see Nancy through her crisis.
整天想着死，去死啊！你这样跟妈妈说话的吗？
喜歡這種真正反映台北中等家庭生活的內容，喜歡裡面所有的演員，喜歡她說故事和拍攝的方式。希望還能有更多這樣探索親情和觸摸台灣底氣的作品。
我还挺喜欢看家庭题材电影的，这个故事架构和角色设定真的非常吸引我，有特别多可以深入展开的东西，比如东西方文化矛盾，比如如何面对癌症，比如家长如何跟叛逆期的孩子相处，比如男人如何平衡家庭和工作之间的关系等等，这些内容电影似乎都涉及了，但似乎都浅尝辄止，没有深入挖掘，电影似乎只呈现出了这么一个矛盾集合体的状态，有明显的感觉东一榔头西一棒槌。我觉得应该像城南旧事一样全部改成儿童视角可能会好一些，这样有很多只呈现出一部分的内容在逻辑上就合理多了，整个电影的气质也会发生质的改变
back to 2003（inasadway ( 最后的陈绮贞..有够杀（吴沛绫音乐也写得蛮好
从前我们以为，父母若是不能满足我们的要求，那他们就是不爱我们。于是便一边肆意说着伤人的话、做着伤人的事，一边埋怨“明明是他们不够爱我”。在对其他一切挫折都饱含忍耐力和宽容背后，却唯独觉得“爱”是非黑即白的完美主义。
精心设计的剧本，从细到大处处皆冲突和困境。但感觉女孩对文化和自身身份的认同的展现太过执着，反而忽略了女孩与家庭间关系的更丰富的变化，一直感觉在围着一个问题争吵。而母亲的形象刻画得略表面，希望看到更丰富，反而着墨不多的父亲比较出彩，当然也可能因为他不是那个比较沉的角色更容易有张力。幸好母亲的弱倒是被林嘉欣的美忽略了。感觉不够喉。
知道它欠缺在哪里可是……丝丝入扣，针针入肉。林嘉欣太好了。
硬要雞蛋裡挑骨頭的話，覺得吵架戲碼都較為單一，銜接到結尾豁然開朗讓人有點買不了單，但絕對是4.5佳作。
来一个同题作文，03年的梁妈妈没有患癌，大女儿也不用提前回来生活，在美帝学业马术两手抓，暑假回国补习中文，08年北京奥运会前紧急入籍，勇夺首枚马术奥运🥇，赞助代言纷至沓来……吼不吼啊……
疫情之下的家长里短，掺杂文化差异，没有过度煽情，很舒服
很好哭很好哭，足矣。妹妹的話讓人心碎，不加修飾也不隱藏。流暢，不造作，也不貪心，結局的timing很好。演講稿的內容也不重要了。以及體罰真的很噁心。
台湾电影真的很会搞生活流，爱与恨，互虐与温馨的反复横跳，多多少少有点反复无常，但是对应起真实的家庭感情，其实却也十分真实。所以无法在要求它再戏剧一点，比如把未完的演讲进行下去，把感情转变的契机写明白。相比之下，《小伟》提炼出了乡愁，《瀑布》提炼出了惊悚。感染力上，是要强一点。
有点意外地没有那么喜欢这部电影。当然，是比《瀑布》好，但是依旧有点浮于表面。我瞬间有种困惑，到底是电影浮于表面，还是生活本身就浮于表面？
电影中展现的冲突很多。从直接的电影名字来看，两个文化之间的冲突，再到整个家庭成员彼此之间的矛盾，还有传统疾病癌症与最近的新冠肺炎。但是影片想表达的太多，反而在文化冲突方面并没有讲述的很清楚，流于很碎的表面展现。
American Girl讲，有时候恨跟爱是一体两面；“但这如果已经是她的最好了呢？”
华人家庭的内核感觉放在任何社会背景讲的都是一样的故事，所以如果剔除疫情、患病、海外归国这些背景的话，剩下的一切，不知道是不是可以用李安在《喜宴》里唯一的一句台词来总结
adolescent girl “妈妈可以答应我不要死吗”
虽然讲的家庭，其实更多的是触动了一部分人的怀旧吧，2003年当时台湾怎么有还不如我在武汉的感觉。
不是自己导演亲身经历拍不出这么多家庭和学校的细节，但是一代台大学生的美国梦到底是怎样的，全片就一句话带过，太可惜。（预感到十年以后可能大陆也会出现这种进退两难美国梦最后一家人团团圆圆的电影）
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