This slow-paced film is beautifully shot, and enhanced by the luminous presence of Louise Brooks (as Thymian), who makes a perfect cinematic illustration of innocence under attack. But the direction is so heavyhanded that much of the message is dulled.<br /><br />The chemist who preys upon Thymian is shown to be an evil lout from his first closeup, so it's hard to understand why she would ever talk to him. The reformatory directors are sadistic caricatures, and Thymian's father and stepmother are exaggerated hypocrites.<br /><br />The father's acting doesn't help, as it consists mainly of standing in symbolic poses. (Irritatingly, Thymian never blames her father for his awful actions, only her stepmother.) These choices make it hard to take much of the story seriously, although probably many of the events related are based on truth.<br /><br />Thymian herself can be frustrating to watch. Unluckily, and a bit absurdly, she tends to faint whenever she's confronted with a sexual situation. I assume this was the director's way of making sure viewers didn't blame her for her "fall," but perhaps there's a more interesting Freudian explanation. Twenties-fashion fans will enjoy the scenes in the surprisingly benign whorehouse. But unless you're a Louise Brooks fan or a cinematography student, I can't recommend this melodramatic film.