White Oleander (2002)

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:

Michelle Pfeiffer, Renée Zellweger, Robin Wright

3 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Amy Aquino	...	Miss Martinez
John Billingsley	...	Paramedic
Elisa Bocanegra	...	Girl in Fight
Darlene Bohorquez	...	Prisoner
Solomon Burke Jr.	...	Guard
Scott Allan Campbell	...	Bill Greenway
Sam Catlin	...	Teacher
Debra Christofferson	...	Marlena
Billy Connolly	...	Barry Kolker
Marc Donato	...	Davey Thomas
Svetlana Efremova	...	Rena Gruschenka
Patrick Fugit	...	Paul Trout
Vernon Haas	...	Guard
Sean Happy	...	Dirt Bike Boyfriend
Cole Hauser	...	Ray

Storyline

Astrid Magnussen (Alison Lohman) is a fifteen-year-old girl, living in California. Her mother, Ingrid (Michelle Pfeiffer), is a beautiful, free-spirited poet. 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.

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Plot Keywords:

christian fanatic | horoscope | reference to astrology | reference to a zodiac sign | zodiac sign | 

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Taglines:

Where does a mother end and a daughter begin?

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements concerning dysfunctional relationships, drug content, language, sexuality and violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many people in the movie industry felt sure that Michelle Pfeiffer would receive an Oscar nomination for her turn as Ingrid Magnussen, but this movie's failure at the box-office, coupled with the aggressive marketing campaign for Chicago (2002) actresses Queen Latifah and Catherine Zeta-Jones in the same category, Pfeiffer failed to get a nomination.

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Goofs

Astrid says her father left when she was two years old when she talks with Ray, but toward the end of the movie, Ingrid tells Astrid her father left when she was six months old.

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Quotes

Starr: Astrid, those are ugly shoes.
Astrid: Snakes don't bite above ankle.
Starr: Well, take my word for it, you better being bitten by snakes then dressin' for them.

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in Game k n b?: Episode dated 29 November 2006 (2006)

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Soundtracks

Black Hearted Ways
Written by Tim Easton
Performed by Tim Easton
Courtesy of New West Records

User Reviews

Alison Lohman stands out in subtle coming-of-age drama

Based on the same-titled novel by Janet Fitch, White Oleander tells the story of a teenage girl (Alison Lohman) struggling to survive in foster homes while her free-spirited mother (Michelle Phieffer) is in prison for having murdered her lover with the poisonous flower 'White Oleander'. It is a complex story of the relationship between a powerless girl and a loveless mother that, in spite of its cheesy sounding premise, manages to avoid all clichéd Hallmark moments and project quite a lot of heart in doing so.

White Oleander sees Alison Lohman in a superbly bruised and fragile performance as Astrid Magnussen and we follow her through her struggles, both to bond with her mother and to survive in foster cares. All developments in her life feel natural and genuine, for example seeking the affirmation of an older man (Cole Hauser) in one of her foster homes, and putting herself into a strangely Lolita-like situation -- and this part is viciously well-handled and more effective than any other teen girl/older man jail bait situation I have ever seen.

The film stars a wide variety of blondes, Michelle Phieffer, Alison Lohman, Robin Wright Penn and Renée Zellweger in different parts and they all feel appropriate. Phieiffer is proud, cold and heartless and this is juxtapositioned with Lohman's mildness and loving ways. White Oleander is a film that is indeed very sad, but does not purposely pull at the human race's collective heartstrings in every emotional scene and set-up. This way, in spite of its content, it never becomes sappy. It's not a film I would watch again however, and I would never recommend it to male viewers because it is very chick-oriented.

7/10

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros.

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

11 October 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

White Oleander

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,607,480, 13 October 2002

Gross USA:

$16,357,770

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$21,672,284

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Gaylord Films, John Wells Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1