Gardens of the Night
The Story:
Leslie (Ryan Simpkins) is an 8-year-old girl, as she walks to school down a sunny suburban street. Stopped by a middle-aged man, Alex (Tom Arnold), who claims he needs help finding his lost dog, Leslie makes the mistake of getting into his car.
All along the search, Alex pulls information from her about her life and family. He offers her a ride to school because she is late. She agrees. On the drive we meet Alex's friend Frank (Kevin Zegers) who also helps to pull key information from Leslie such as the name of her father and where he works. They drop her off at school only to return for her trip home where they convince Leslie that something has happened to her parents and she must go with them now.
When she arrives at Alex's house, it appears he gets a phone call from her father. From what Alex says, it seems an emergency happened and that her father wants her to stay with him a little while until he can come get her. He puts her in a bedroom with Donnie (Jermaine Scooter Smith) and locks the door. The first night after being drugged, Alex takes her out of the bedroom then takes photos of her presumably naked.
Slowly Alex goes about breaking Leslie. He tells her that her parents do not want her anymore. As proof, he provides a phone number to her "father's cell phone" (actually just a pay phone), and when her repeated calls are unanswered, she eventually accepts his story. She and another victim, a young boy named Donny, are forced into prostitution and child-pornography.
Eventually, Alex takes Leslie to stay with Orlando (Harold Perrineau). As soon as she is left alone with Orlando, he tells her about wanting to touch and feel her. When he goes to touch her, she screams out for Alex who bursts in and apparently shoots and kills Orlando. He makes her promise together with Frank that they will tell no one about the murder. She is broken and trusts him completely.
With Leslie broken, Alex has sex with her. Alex meets with Jimmy (Jeremy Sisto). Jimmy opens a book full of photos with kids in it. All apparently for sale for a night. He talks about the possibility to even fly Leslie to different customers which Alex disagrees with and says he only wants local customers. Next we see Leslie in the backseat of Jimmy's car. He tells her that he will only give her to the best customers and that she is going to see a judge (Raynold Gideon), and his wife (Cornelia Guest).
Leslie and Donnie have become very close like brother and sister. Playing together, depending on each other, and even sleeping in the same bed. On a trip to the store for ice cream, the store clerk recognizes Leslie from a milk carton in her shop and calls the police. Back at the house, Alex grabs both kids and puts tape over their mouths. Together with Frank, they run out the back and get away.
Fast forward 10 years. Leslie (Gillian Jacobs) and Donnie (Evan Ross) are cuddled together sleeping on the beach. Both are street prostitutes selling themselves any way possible to survive.Leslie is prostituting herself, and as a way to move away from this, she tries to lure a young teen living in a shelter into a prostitution ring. Donny has fallen in love with her, but Leslie is very confused and views his feelings as nauseating and depraved. She goes to the shelter in an attempt to win the girl's trust and turn her out as a prostitute, but at the last minute she has a change of heart and returns the girl to the shelter.
The counselor (John Malkovich) discovers her true identity and tells her that her parents have been looking for her all these years, which she finally realizes is true.
Leslie reunites with her parents and attempts to return home, however, she is too scarred from her life on the street and cannot remain in such a normal atmosphere. She leaves in the middle of the night and hitchhikes to Florida, hoping to re-unite with Donnie.
Starring:
Gillian Jacobs, Evan Ross, Ryan Simpkins, Jermani Scooter Smith, Kevin Zegers, Jeremy Sisto, Harold Perrineau, John Malkovich,Tom Arnold
Directed By:
Damian Harris
Release:
2008
Watch the Trailer:
