Peter R. Breggin, a psychological reformer, has written: "Whatever emotional ball and chain we carry, it is never too late to saw it loose. No matter how much we have handicapped ourselves, whatever time we have left will become infinitely happier. Disappointment, betrayal, and losses may overwhelm us, but, once we decide to take charge of life and become a source of love, we will no longer be preoccupied with what has gone wrong in the past."

This wise perspective comes vividly to life in Fathers and Daughters, directed by Gabriele Muccino who was also at the helm of The Pursuit of Happyness. Both films challenge us to view them through the lens of emotional literacy.

Jake Davis (Russell Crowe), a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, is driving when he and his wife get into an argument over his infidelity and there is a crash. She dies; he ends up in the hospital with a severe head injury; and their young daughter Katie (Kylie Rodgers) survives with no scratches.

When Jake begins to suffer severe seizures, he decides to check into a mental hospital for seven months, leaving Katie with her wealthy aunt (Diane Kruger) and uncle (Bruce Greenwood); they are so taken with this little one that they offer to adopt her. But Jake will have none of that. When he leaves the hospital, he takes his daughter home and begins writing again. He struggles financially after his next book bombs. And his seizures continue.

The drama swings back and forth between Jake's efforts to be a loving and caring father and Katie's (Amanda Seyfried) feelings 25 years later as she has sex with strangers and sabotages relationships with those who care for her. Luckily, her nurturing skills as a social worker are helpful to a young black girl (Quvenzhane Wallis) who has not spoken a word since she was traumatized by witnessing the murder of her mother. In the work arena, Katie feels the self-esteem and self-confidence that is lacking in her relationships with men. When she starts dating Cameron (Aaron Paul), a sensitive young writer, we hope for new possibilities in her relationships with others.

From start to finish, Fathers and Daughters immerses us in the volatile emotions of Jake and Katie as they try to come to terms with suffering, loss, trust, and abandonment. Crowe and Seyfried each carry a cumbersome emotional ball and chain and one of them actually cuts the chains and tastes the freedom of genuine love.