Despite its innocently named title, Lamb is difficult watching, perhaps even among the more uncomfortable movies I can ever remember seeing, as it struggles to tackle heavy subject matter that’s considered more than politically incorrect.

Lamb is the story of David Lamb (Ross Partridge), a forty-seven-year-old divorcee with slicked-back hair but emotionally empty, apathetic to an ending marriage, father of failing health, and life in general in his deadbeat town. Lamb is approached by an eleven-year-old girl, Tommie (Oona Laurence), who Lamb sees and recognizes as a helpless soul, one who needs his help, and proposes a road trip that the two embark on.

While Lamb forces the viewer to confront discomforting, disturbing, social realities between adults and minors, the film feels mostly insufferable in how it can never justify the situation that puts these two people together to attempt to ask any questions except for how unwarranted and inappropriate the relationship is.

This is the complex area that the film never self-assuredly nails–is David Lamb correct in taking an eleven-year-old girl on the road, or is the entire act inappropriate and wrong? The fact that the movie attempts to walk both sides of the line, and seemingly wish to show a justified relationship between them makes the film too difficult a watch to get on board with.

Lamb is the product of being a novel written by Bonnie Nadzam, and being adapted here by Ross Partridge, who wrote the screenplay, directed, and stars as the titular character. Partridge’s attempt at adapting, while courageous in its artistic leap, also feels like a miscalculation of what the movie should be about–or rather, who; Tommie should be our protagonist, but instead we see this film as a means of featuring the fulfilling of David Lamb.

Partridge’s Lamb is emotionally unavailable, dealing with whatever difficulties he must take on, and sees a counterpart only in Tommie and her fractured family life. The fact that David sees her as a justified and mature person to satisfy his insecurities and emotional stunting only shows his character’s own shortcomings and weaknesses. It’s enough to raise interesting questions, but trust me, you’ll cringe through it all.

Credit Lamb for not falling on its sword any more than it has by the performance and acting talent of, who should be considered the true lamb of this movie, Oona Laurence. Last seen in Southpaw as well as I Smile Back, Laurence is game and skilled enough to be a strong presence next to her much older captor and self-proclaimed guardian.

While Lamb should be in some part applauded for even attempting to tell such a risky, emotionally vulnerable story, the film still feels like an uncomfortable story that doesn’t push boundaries as much as reinforce what makes a story like this wrong for a lot of reasons.

Lamb is now playing at select theaters and iTunes/VOD January 12, 2016.