*MINOR SPOILERS*
After her mother murders her cheating boyfriend, a teenage girl drifts through a series of foster homes. If it wasn't for the stellar acting by a great cast, this would be strictly 'movie of the week' stuff.
Alison Lohman and Michelle Pfieffer are the standouts here - they are utterly convincing as mother and daughter. Pfieffer in particular shines as the seductive, manipulative Ingrid and manages to coax every ounce of humanity from her character. We are ultimately invited to sympathise with Ingrid and her futile attempts to control her daughter's life from behind bars. Lohman, as Astrid, the film's central character, has a difficult task - she's the link in the film's somewhat episodic structure. Earmark this girl as a star of the future, because she pulls it off a treat. This film is her journey from adolescence to adulthood, and Lohman confidently takes the audience with her in each step. I only wish the film makers had put more faith in her acting ability and not elected to show the passing of time with drastic changes to her hairstyle. It looks somewhat ridiculous, since Pfieffer doesn't change a jot. Then again, this could be a deliberate plot by the film makers to symbolise that Astrid is changing and growing while Ingrid stagnates and clings to her old life.
Robin Wright Penn and Renee Zellweger do well in underwritten roles as Astrid's foster mothers. Wright Penn get her teeth into Star (colorfully described by Ingrid as "Bible-thumping trailer trash") and makes us remember that this lady is not just Sean Penn's wife - she can act! Star is a picture of hypocrisy - she has Astrid baptised and espouses 'finding Jesus' yet is not married to her live in boyfriend and wears clothes that would make a guest on Jerry Springer blush. Zellweger has even less to do as the fragile and emotionally needy Claire, the one foster mother Astrid truly bonds with. Renee does her best, but Claire is ultimately too vapid and passive to be really engaging.
This is a woman's movie and as such the male parts don't do so well. Billy Connelly is barely glimpsed as Ingrid's murdered lover. Noah Wyle is Claire's self-centred yuppie husband who's work based travel means he's hardly on screen. Patrick Fugit fares better as Astrid's love interest - I'm so pleased that they didn't select a conventionally handsome 'teen idol' for this part. Fugit has the chops to become a great character actor.
At the centre of this story is the mother and daughter relationship, and it is wonderfully rendered. The tables gradually turn - at the beginning of the film, Ingrid is the strong one. By the end that has been neatly inverted. Themes of love, loss and letting go will resonate with mothers and daughters everywhere.
I was entertained by this movie. It was slow and occasionally melodramatic, but held aloft by great performances.
After her mother murders her cheating boyfriend, a teenage girl drifts through a series of foster homes. If it wasn't for the stellar acting by a great cast, this would be strictly 'movie of the week' stuff.
Alison Lohman and Michelle Pfieffer are the standouts here - they are utterly convincing as mother and daughter. Pfieffer in particular shines as the seductive, manipulative Ingrid and manages to coax every ounce of humanity from her character. We are ultimately invited to sympathise with Ingrid and her futile attempts to control her daughter's life from behind bars. Lohman, as Astrid, the film's central character, has a difficult task - she's the link in the film's somewhat episodic structure. Earmark this girl as a star of the future, because she pulls it off a treat. This film is her journey from adolescence to adulthood, and Lohman confidently takes the audience with her in each step. I only wish the film makers had put more faith in her acting ability and not elected to show the passing of time with drastic changes to her hairstyle. It looks somewhat ridiculous, since Pfieffer doesn't change a jot. Then again, this could be a deliberate plot by the film makers to symbolise that Astrid is changing and growing while Ingrid stagnates and clings to her old life.
Robin Wright Penn and Renee Zellweger do well in underwritten roles as Astrid's foster mothers. Wright Penn get her teeth into Star (colorfully described by Ingrid as "Bible-thumping trailer trash") and makes us remember that this lady is not just Sean Penn's wife - she can act! Star is a picture of hypocrisy - she has Astrid baptised and espouses 'finding Jesus' yet is not married to her live in boyfriend and wears clothes that would make a guest on Jerry Springer blush. Zellweger has even less to do as the fragile and emotionally needy Claire, the one foster mother Astrid truly bonds with. Renee does her best, but Claire is ultimately too vapid and passive to be really engaging.
This is a woman's movie and as such the male parts don't do so well. Billy Connelly is barely glimpsed as Ingrid's murdered lover. Noah Wyle is Claire's self-centred yuppie husband who's work based travel means he's hardly on screen. Patrick Fugit fares better as Astrid's love interest - I'm so pleased that they didn't select a conventionally handsome 'teen idol' for this part. Fugit has the chops to become a great character actor.
At the centre of this story is the mother and daughter relationship, and it is wonderfully rendered. The tables gradually turn - at the beginning of the film, Ingrid is the strong one. By the end that has been neatly inverted. Themes of love, loss and letting go will resonate with mothers and daughters everywhere.
I was entertained by this movie. It was slow and occasionally melodramatic, but held aloft by great performances.