Customer Reviews

White Oleander (Widescreen)

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The cover and the tagline 'where does mother end and daughter begin' just cries Lifetime tearjerker watered down in sentiment. What I actually saw in White Oleander was an engaging, emotional (sentiment kept surprisingly low) film with an incredible cast. The opening credits (with the rundown NY apartment) are stark but Astrid's voice-over introduction is beautiful and haunting as her suitcase art is shown. Alison Lohman is vibrant, innocent, edgy, cynical and brutally honest as Astrid. Her performance was Oscar-worthy and it's a shame she wasn't even nominated. Her portrayal of Astrid's evolution was not only convincing, it showed her as an extremely versatile and talented new actress. Michelle Pheiffer is chilling as Ingrid, a character that I was unsure whether to symphathize with or hate. Her brutal manipulation of her daughter mixes with an obvious sense of love that is seemingly overcome by her bitter self-centered-ness and jealousy over Astrid's changing character. The essence of the character radiates from her face. Robin Wright Penn is both cruel and amusing as hypocritcal Starr, a trashy, lusty born-again Christian whose initial niceness dissolves into jealousy and rage. Her young foster son Davey (Marc Donato) is actually quite impressive as a nerdy, insecure young boy who bonds with Astrid, and Cole Hauser, right down to his rough, handsome look, embodies Starr's mostly good-natured but philandering boyfriend, Ray. This was the first movie I saw Renee Zellweger in, and this performance, being likely overshadowed by 'Chicago,' is stunning. Everything- her cherub-like face, the passive, and empathetic, softness of her voice, reflects the fragility and compassion of Claire. One of the parts I was actually drawn to most was that of Rena (Svetlana Efremova), the bohemian type Russian woman who was Astrid's final foster mother. She cares mostly about making money, which was obvious from her earlier scenes, but with her Astrid learns about the reality of facing life. Rena rejects all sentiment and patronization but her influence seems to effect Astrid the most. I particularly liked the scene where she and Astrid have a rather honest discussion at the house. By now Astrid has grown up, become hardened, cynical but retains her curiosity and fierce determination and artistry. Patrick Fugit is appropriate as Paul, an ambitious, lonely artist that provides one meaningful thing to Astrid in hellish McKinney Hall, and gives her hope at the end. In all, White Oleander is provoking, ethereal at times, emotional and is pulled together by a brilliant cast and an amazing musical score and unique camera angles. One of my favorite movies.

Reviewing the book WHITE OLEANDER in 1999 I felt it was just another rehash of victimization of teens and adults by society. Now the movie is out on DVD and in the home, without the disruption of an audience to distract, WHITE OLEANDER becomes a more sensitive exploration of the need of love between parent and child, or between each of us. Part of the credibility of the film I found lacking in the book was the ability of the director and the actors to take the characters beyond caricature and targeted violence - whether that violence takes the form of mental or physical cruelty or is symptomatic of a social system that is in need of repair. Alison Lohman gives a bravura performance as Astrid, the newly formed foster child after her mother's imprisonment for murder. Her mother, likewise, is fully fleshed out by Michelle Pfeiffer. The foster parents may lack in social and parenting skills but the actors portraying them (Robin Wright Penn, Renee Zellweger, Zvetlana Efrenova, et al) find the core of credibility in each and are all supporting actors of the highest order.

So here is an instance, at least for this reviewer, where the book was less than mediocre but provided a film that is memorable. Very much worth your time.

There are so many amazing actresses in this one movie and it shines! Deep storyline and it keeps you involved from start to finish!

Great movie. Highly recommended, great performances from all actresses. One issue: continuity regarding Astrid's hair/eyebrows, just annoying, but a huge distraction. Otherwise, really good film.

Men covet the hunt and women desire the perfect nest, so when we see a story about women and these women suffer in melodramatic fashion, we say this is a "Chick Flick." The men leave the room to drink beer in the garage. Well "White Oleander" did not threaten my burly manhood. I found the story compelling. I rooted for young teen, Alison Lohman. Her mother, Michelle Pfeiffer poisons a lover in a jealous rage. Consequently mom is arrested and gets 30 years in the slammer. Alison is shuttled from foster home to orphanage. Alison falls for the man toy of a Jesus freak and gets shot. Then terror girls at the orphanage jump her and she gets even. Renee Zellweger is L.A. as a substitute mom even if she is suicidal. The final foster home is all drugs and punk. So we see Allison morph from innocence to a worldly punk chick. Pfeiffer has a Feminist-Goddess hold on her daughter even from prison and her daughter must break away. This is the weakest part of the story, muddled. After all, mom should have kept her feminist panties on and her poison Oleander in the garden.

A film by Peter Kosminsky

"White Oleander" is the story of one girl's experience through the foster care system as she learns who she is, what she wants, and who she does not want to be. This is the story of Astrid (Alison Lohman), a 15 year old girl who is living with her mother, Ingrid (Michelle Pfeiffer). Ingrid is an "artist", with all of the pretensions that you can stereotype onto one character. Ingrid believes the way she does and anyone who does not believe as she does (about anything) is being intellectually dishonest. She encourages Astrid to think for herself, but it seems only if that means that Astrid's conclusions agree with Ingrid. Things would probably stay as they are, but when Ingrid is arrested for murder, Astrid is put into foster care and the movie truly begins.

Astrid spends relatively brief stays with several foster homes. We see her at the home of Starr (Robin Wright Penn), a white trash born again Christian who speaks about Jesus an awful lot, but may not live like a Christian. Problems arise, and Astrid is moved to the orphanage to another home, that of Claire (Renee Zellweger). Claire is, to Astrid's view, the perfect foster mother. But, like before, something happens and she is moved to another home, that of Rena (Svetlana Efremova). Rena is an immigrant (from Russia?) and is entirely about making money. Through each of the stays in a foster home, Astrid is blending her personality with that of the foster mother, trying to figure out who she is. While this is happening, Astrid stays in touch with her mother and this is where we see the most growth for Astrid, in how she interacts with her mother.

It is not fair to compare a movie with the book which it is based on because they are two entirely different forms of media, but sometimes a brief comparison needs to be mentioned. The film is filled with talented actresses and they turn in fine performances, but the film is missing "something" that keeps it from being a truly excellent film. The novel has a lot of emotional power that the film lacks (though there is one scene in particular that is very powerful, closer to the end of the film). That power is part of the "something" that is missing. There is nothing that is actually wrong with the film (despite some complaints with the ending), and it is competent, but it is simply not special at all. Alison Lohman, on the other hand, is an actress to watch.

This movie was very superficial, we don't feel it real, it go to one situation to another without exploring it enough.

It's a terrible representation of foster care, but a great representation of a child trying to shake away from the grips of an overbearing mother. Astrid, the main character, is desprately trying to find herself, but having difficulty as her mother, who has been sent to jail for murder, tries to control her from behind bars.

Astrid's mother is a sick and manipulative woman. That's one thing you know right off the bat. She claims to be an artist, but she knows nothing about true beauty. She claims to be protecting her daughter, but she really doesn't care either way. She claims to want her daughter to think for herself, but in reality, she tries desperitly to do all her thinking for her.

This movie has very interesting characters. Watching Astrid go from a fairly naive girl to a hardened woman is disturbing, but understandable. All in all, it's a good movie.

I always hated the term chick flicks, just like I hated the macho label given to action movies, there are simply good and bad movies, either gender is capable of loving good movies no matter what the genre. My point in relation to this movie, is that guys are perfectly capable of liking this movie whether or not it contains only women. I mean men are fascinated with women are we not. This movie is not an amazing movie, far too melodramatic and precious for that. But it is delightful in parts, Alison Lohman delivers a pretty staggering performance, showing the change of her character but also the steadiness that she exudes. Its a pleasure watching her navigate the movie. Thomas Newman, as always delivers a beautiful score, adding tremendous weight to all scenes where his work is present. This movie was different from what I expected in its visual style, its handheld but well-composed shots brought an almost theatrical style to the movie. But the sweeping events, like shootings and suicides add an unneeded overdramatic element to the beautiful underplayed character scenes, which undermine the dramatic tension of the plot. It bothered me, but overall, I wasn't awed by this movie, I just remember it, but that might even be better.

This movie is rarly funny, it doesn't need to be. It's serious, sad, dramatic, and full of action. Tons of things happen to this girl, who's not you're stero-type blonde, and the movie never has a moment when you think it's getting boring. The cover the DVD shows the four blondes and makes it look like a "chick flick" definitly not so. Not the fell-good movie of the year, but a great one that leaves you speechless.