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 is a 15 year old girl, living in California. Her mother, Ingrid, is a beautiful, free-spirited poet. Their life, though unusual, is satisfying until one day, a man named Barry Kolker (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 favourite 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 | love | foster home | prison | 15 year old | 

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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

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros.

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

11 October 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Laurier blanc

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,607,480, 13 October 2002, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$16,346,122, 8 December 2002

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$21,229,200, 31 December 2002

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film in which Claire shows Astrid is 'The Return of the The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' which Renee Zellweger actually starred in.

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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.

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Quotes

Paul: I was born addicted to heroin.
Astrid: And what was that like?
Paul: I don't know - I was out of rehab by the time I was six months old.

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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

Features Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1994)

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Soundtracks

Bang Bang
Written by Steve Clark and Tom McKay
Performed by Vibrolux
By Arrangement with June St. Entertainment

User Reviews

A parade of great scenes, great acting, and teenage angst

White Oleander (2002)

The harrowing journey of a teenage girl through a series of foster parent and foster home situations because her mother went to jail for murder. On the surface this is about survival in a hostile world, and one layer down it's about getting to know her mother and what a mother's love is all about. But even deeper we get to know what this adolescent girl is all about, with growing complexity, and growing interest and concern.

There are two keys here, the layered and ever changing story, based on the bestseller by the same name, and the lead actress, Alison Lohman. Both Lohman and director Peter Kosminsky come out of television work, and for Lohman, this is her breakout film into Hollywood (she was in a Ridley Scott movie after this, and then played the young Jessica Lange character in the fabulous "Big Fish" a couple years later). Lohman makes her character really sympathetic but in a hardened way, never cloying, and never clichéd.

But she has fabulous support along the way. Two of her foster mothers are given juicy roles that are played with conviction--Robin Wright Penn as a born again floozy, Renee Zelwegger as a needy but caring actress out of work--and her biological mother is played with icy slipperiness by Michelle Pfeiffer. That's a weirdly amazing cast. And well constructed, very serious. In all, the editing is usually pretty fast, the filming is visually smart without being overly seductive, and the writing (and screen writing) is sharp as an Xacto knife.

All the while, watching and being impressed, you will also realize it's "just a movie." You can feel the presence of the film world, a glitzing up of characters, an unavoidable pandering to clichés to make it look and feel pretty. I don't mean that a hardhitting drama about the tragedy of a young girl's life has to be gritty and truthful and meaningful--but that was a possibility. And you can see how this film might have been something intensely moving without resorting to filmmaking tearjerker tricks (like the repeated glances through the windows near the end) or a bizarre deal-making finale.

Reservations aside, I found myself more absorbed with each scene. A nice surprise.