White Oleander

20022002
PG-13PG-13
1h 49m

Michelle Pfeiffer, Renée Zellweger, Robin Wright, and Alison Lohman in White Oleander (2002)

Trailer

Play trailer0:31

A teenager journeys through a series of foster homes after her mother goes to prison for committing a crime of passion.A teenager journeys through a series of foster homes after her mother goes to prison for committing a crime of passion.A teenager journeys through a series of foster homes after her mother goes to prison for committing a crime of passion.

Director
- Peter Kosminsky
Writers
- Janet Fitch(novel)
- Mary Agnes Donoghue(screenplay)
Stars

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Awards
- 3 wins & 7 nominations

Videos1

White Oleander

Michelle Pfeiffer in White Oleander (2002)

Renée Zellweger and Noah Wyle in White Oleander (2002)

Cole Hauser and Alison Lohman in White Oleander (2002)

Renée Zellweger and Alison Lohman in White Oleander (2002)

Michelle Pfeiffer and Alison Lohman in White Oleander (2002)

Michelle Pfeiffer and Renée Zellweger in White Oleander (2002)

Robin Wright, Liz Stauber, and Alison Lohman in White Oleander (2002)

Alison Lohman in White Oleander (2002)

Michelle Pfeiffer and Alison Lohman in White Oleander (2002)

Michelle Pfeiffer and Alison Lohman in White Oleander (2002)

Patrick Fugit and Alison Lohman in White Oleander (2002)

(L-r) ALISON LOHMAN and SVETLANA EFREMOVA

Director
- Peter Kosminsky
Writers
- Janet Fitch(novel)
- Mary Agnes Donoghue(screenplay)
All cast & crew
See more cast details at IMDbPro

Thirteen

6.8

The Deep End of the Ocean

6.4

The Deep End of the Ocean

Love Field

6.5

One Fine Day

6.5

Where the Heart Is

6.8

Where the Heart Is

Personal Effects

6.2

Personal Effects

Up Close & Personal

6.2

Up Close & Personal

A Thousand Acres

6.1

A Thousand Acres

The Story of Us

6.0

The Story of Us

Anywhere But Here

6.2

Anywhere But Here

Where Is Kyra?

5.6

Chéri

6.2

Astrid Magnussen (Alison Lohman) is a fifteen-year-old girl, living in California. Her mother, Ingrid (Michelle Pfeiffer), is a beautiful, free-spirited poet and artist who also suffers from a borderline personality disorder (BPD). Their life, though unusual, is satisfying until one day, a man named Barry Kolker (Sir Billy Connolly) (that her mother refers to at first as "The goat man") comes into their lives, and Ingrid falls madly in love with him, only to have her heart broken, and her life ruined. For revenge, Ingrid murders Barry with the deadly poison of her favorite flower: the White Oleander. She is sent to prison for life, and Astrid has to go through foster home after foster home. Throughout nearly a decade, she experiences forbidden love, religion, near-death experiences, drugs, starvation, and how it feels to be loved. But throughout these years, she keeps in touch with her mother via letters to prison. And while Ingrid's gift is to give Astrid the power to survive, Astrid's gift is to teach her Mother about love. —wyrd_sista_187 <wyrd_sista_187@yahoo.com.au>

borderline personality disorder manipulation bad mother self mutilation heroin 252 more

Taglines
- Where does a mother end and a daughter begin?
Genre
- Drama
Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
- Rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements concerning dysfunctional relationships, drug content, language, sexuality and violence
Parents guide

Trivia
Alison Lohman wore a wig because she was bald throughout this movie, because she had just previously filmed a role as a cancer patient.

Goofs
When Uncle Ray and Astrid are outside watching the meteor shower he lights a cigarette but when he takes a puff and pulls it away to blow out the smoke there is no smoke and the cigarette is not lit. When Starr comes out and asks what he is doing the cigarette is lit and smoldering.

Quotes
Ingrid: Don't attach yourself to anyone who shows you the least bit of attention because you're lonely. Loneliness is the human condition. No one is ever going to fill that space. The best you can do is know yourself... know what you want.

Alternate versions
Additional scenes featured on the DVD release that is not from the final print:
A scene where Astrid defends her brother (in the first foster home) after Starr beats him up.
A scene immediately after featuring Astrid and her brother (still in the first foster home) lying to the parademic asking how he broke his arm.
A scene where Claire can't decide which cereal they want to eat for breakfast and makes Astrid choose one.
A scene featuring Claire and Astrid riding home in the car after visiting Ingrid (Michelle Pfeiffer). Claire tells Astrid what Ingrid told her.
A scene where Astrid is drawing Claire's picture and Mark asking Astrid if she took his pen.
A scene where Astrid leaves to go back to Mac. Mark asks Astrid if she wants to go to Claire's funeral in which she declines to. He then gives her a lot of money before getting to the van.

Connections
Featured in HBO First Look: The Journey of 'White Oleander' (2002)

Soundtracks
Melissa's Dream
Written by Earl Rose
Performed by Earl Rose

Top review

8/10

Superb film version of a fine novel

Strong performances by Lohman, Penn, Zellweger and especially Michelle Pfeiffer in a faithful adaptation of Janet Fitch's novel. Not hard to see why this one didn't attract more attention in theaters, since it lacks the ingredients that seem to characterize hit films nowadays -- such as action, violence, sex and stunning special effects. It's just a very moving story, well-crafted and well-acted. I'd recommend it to anyone.

helpful•69

12

Puppet_Master
Mar 17, 2003

Release date
- October 11, 2002 (United States)
Country of origin
- United States
Official site
- Warner Bros.
Languages
- English
- Russian
Also known as
- Білий олеандр
Filming locations
- Santa Clarita, California, USA
Production companies
See more company credits at IMDbPro

Budget
- $16,000,000 (estimated)
Gross US & Canada
- $16,357,770
Opening weekend US & Canada
- $5,607,480
- Oct 13, 2002
Gross worldwide
- $21,672,284

See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

Runtime
1 hour 49 minutes
Sound mix
Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1

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Michelle Pfeiffer, Renée Zellweger, Robin Wright, and Alison Lohman in White Oleander (2002)

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By what name was White Oleander (2002) officially released in India in English?

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