Stained Glass Windows (2010)

A darkly intelligent teenage girl struggles to overcome her past and the restraints of suburban society while trying to come to terms with the present.

Director:

William L. Brown

Writers:

William L. Brown (written & created by), Sheila Ivy Traister (dialogue)

Stars:

Christopher Atkins, Becky Baker, Paul Borrillo

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christopher Atkins	...	Detective Marshall
Becky Baker	...	Gal
Paul Borrillo	...	Doctor Werner
Jonathan Camp	...	Rob
Chuck Fiorella	...	Father C-Do
Dalin Gomez	...	Group Therapy Woman
Kristie Griever	...	Lindsay
Mark Steven Grove	...	Tom
Kerry Knuppe	...	Heather
Cajardo Lindsey	...	Simon
Michael McNeill	...	Steve
Emelie O'Hara	...	Cherry
Christopher James Riddell	...	Jamie
Gina Scalzi	...	Ms. Reynolds
Summer Snover	...	Myra

Storyline

The night Cherry Douglas comes home from foster care, she is attacked by her ex- boyfriend. She finds herself on a journey to take back her life and find out what she's really made of. She goes to all the usual sources of guidance: a psychologist, a minister and her school teachers. The psychologist tells her that she's a normal teenager and says that her questions about life and our suffering can only be answered by a priest. The minister can only offer advice and enigmatic riddles to help her find her answers which eventually leave her to the desire to find the truth about God himself. Her school teacher prattles on about social groups and how you just have to allow yourself to go with the flow to fit in. None of these sources seem to answer her questions, or save her from the cruelties of her peers. Sleepless nights and stressful school situations leave her lost. Until she finally approaches the blind man who took the time to call the police when she was in trouble. She joins her ...

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Plot Keywords:

school bullying | goth | lesbian | tiger | sword | 

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Taglines:

We all have our judgments, we all see life through Stained Glass Windows.

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Filming Locations:

Englewood, Colorado, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Striking the Water Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo (Dolby stereo)

Color:

Color (HDVideo)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

Maybe One Day
Written By Derrick Rowe
Performed By Derrick Rowe
Produced by Derrick Rowe & Striking the Water Productions, LLC

User Reviews

A young woman finds herself both bullied and almost friendless, but shows amazing strength and courage.

A young woman who's become a Goth (Cherry) finds herself both bullied and unpopular at her high school with few friends. Her father has just recently shot her mom seriously and killed himself as well. She's also facing escalating physical violence from her abusive boyfriend. Despite all this, she's found connections with a martial arts school because two of her friends have invited her on a Saturday. Gradually, she's found that she likes the school and the excellent instruction. She begins to excel and gains, strength, stamina, skill, and self-confidence. She also begins to build a better life and lose old destructive habits. As she learns to express herself and reach out to others including a wise neighbor, she's also beginning to engage with life rather than to run from it and hide. The movie is about a young woman meeting, physical, mental, and relationship challenges as well as starting to make good decisions and reaching out, asserting herself. We find her growing into a wise and strong young women beyond her years.

Although I can tell this was not an expensive movie to make, the main characters grabbed and held my attention. I got a sense of knowing Cherry's mom, her wise neighbor, and the owner of the martial arts school as well as a minister who is patient, understanding, and honest. There were also two special friends in Cherry's high-school who helped her, but had their own inner struggles and demons to shed. I thought the movie was well done, but a bit slow moving at times. It could have also used 15 or 20 minutes more time to show a little bit more of who her friends were and more on her mom too.

I found myself involved and engaged personally in the story. The story line was compelling. It reflects the difficulties that many of the people in my own family have faced growing up and catches their plight, their struggles, and their willingness to seek help and grow. They do not give up easily at all and gradually learn to cope with many societal pressures and the dysfunction in modern western society. Emelie O'Hara does a wonderful job in playing the role of Cherry, a struggling 16 year old.