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IMDbPro

White Oleander

  • 20022002
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 1h 49m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
33K
YOUR RATING
Michelle Pfeiffer, Renée Zellweger, Robin Wright, and Alison Lohman in White Oleander (2002)
Trailer
Play trailer0:31
1 Video
69 Photos
Drama
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.
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
33K
YOUR RATING
    • Peter Kosminsky
    • Janet Fitch(novel)
    • Mary Agnes Donoghue(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Michelle Pfeiffer
    • Renée Zellweger
    • Robin Wright
    • Peter Kosminsky
    • Janet Fitch(novel)
    • Mary Agnes Donoghue(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Michelle Pfeiffer
    • Renée Zellweger
    • Robin Wright
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 177User reviews
    • 88Critic reviews
    • 61Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos1

    White Oleander
    Trailer 0:31
    Watch White Oleander

    Photos69

    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

    Top cast

    Edit
    Michelle Pfeiffer
    Michelle Pfeiffer
    • Ingrid Magnussen
    Renée Zellweger
    Renée Zellweger
    • Claire Richards
    Robin Wright
    Robin Wright
    • Starr
    • (as Robin Wright Penn)
    Alison Lohman
    Alison Lohman
    • Astrid Magnussen
    Amy Aquino
    Amy Aquino
    • Miss Martinez
    John Billingsley
    John Billingsley
    • Paramedic
    Elisa Bocanegra
    Elisa Bocanegra
    • Girl in Fight
    Darlene Bohorquez
    • Prisoner
    Solomon Burke Jr.
    Solomon Burke Jr.
    • Guard
    Scott Allan Campbell
    • Bill Greenway
    Sam Catlin
    Sam Catlin
    • Teacher
    Debra Christofferson
    Debra Christofferson
    • Marlena
    Billy Connolly
    Billy Connolly
    • Barry Kolker
    Marc Donato
    Marc Donato
    • Davey Thomas
    Svetlana Efremova
    Svetlana Efremova
    • Rena Gruschenka
    Patrick Fugit
    Patrick Fugit
    • Paul Trout
    Vernon Haas
    • Guard
    Sean Happy
    • Dirt Bike Boyfriend
      • Peter Kosminsky
      • Janet Fitch(novel)
      • Mary Agnes Donoghue(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Alison Lohman wore a wig because she was bald throughout this movie, as 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

    User reviews177

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    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.
    helpful•7
    2
    • secondtake
    • Jan 24, 2011

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 11, 2002 (United States)
      • United States
      • Warner Bros.
      • English
      • Russian
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Santa Clarita, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Warner Bros.
      • Gaylord Films
      • John Wells Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 49 minutes
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS

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