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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Astrid has grown up in the shadow of her beautiful but manipulative mother, Ingrid. With no father on the scene, Ingrid is all that Astrid has, until she poisons a lover with the white oleander of the title. While Ingrid is sent to prison for life, Astrid is thrown into the chaos of the US foster system. She is first sent to the home of Starr, a recovering alcoholic and a born-again Christian. Astrid quickly adapts herself to her new surroundings and all seems fine, until her adolescent charms attract the attention of Starr's boyfriend. All hell breaks loose and Astrid ends up living in a government complex with other kids in the same situation, only much tougher and more aggressive. She quickly finds another home, however, with Claire, a depressive actress. Claire seems to be the mother that Astrid has always longed for: attentive, thoughtful, caring. But Ingrid is still lurking in the background and wastes no time in taking out this threat to her domination over Astrid. Ironically, this is what starts Astrid's real rebellion against her mother and her search for answers.
The film is a good adaptation of the book, though a lot of the grimmer parts (such as the underage sex and the harshness of being a foster child) have been toned down or cut out altogether. Alison Lohman is a wonderful Astrid: her wide eyes perfectly portray Astrid's vulnerability and hurt at what happens to her. She also morphs very well as Astrid takes on the role each mother assigns her: faithful accolyte, demure virgin, intelligent artist, street-wise market girl. Meanwhile, Michelle Pfeiffer has never been more chilling as Ingrid: the film makes good use of her icy beauty and sharp cheekbones to reveal Ingrid's self-absorption and cruelty. Robin Wright Penn is almost unrecognisable as the trailer trash Starr (in a good way) while Renee Zellweger is perfect for the sweet but ultimately vapid Claire (though she is very different from the Claire in the book, who looks more like Audrey Hepburn and thinks too much). Patrick Fugit makes the most of his small role as the only boy of her age that Astrid actually likes.
Buy if: you want a chick flick with a sharp edge.
The film is a good adaptation of the book, though a lot of the grimmer parts (such as the underage sex and the harshness of being a foster child) have been toned down or cut out altogether. Alison Lohman is a wonderful Astrid: her wide eyes perfectly portray Astrid's vulnerability and hurt at what happens to her. She also morphs very well as Astrid takes on the role each mother assigns her: faithful accolyte, demure virgin, intelligent artist, street-wise market girl. Meanwhile, Michelle Pfeiffer has never been more chilling as Ingrid: the film makes good use of her icy beauty and sharp cheekbones to reveal Ingrid's self-absorption and cruelty. Robin Wright Penn is almost unrecognisable as the trailer trash Starr (in a good way) while Renee Zellweger is perfect for the sweet but ultimately vapid Claire (though she is very different from the Claire in the book, who looks more like Audrey Hepburn and thinks too much). Patrick Fugit makes the most of his small role as the only boy of her age that Astrid actually likes.
Buy if: you want a chick flick with a sharp edge.
Format:DVD
This is an absolutely first rate film, of a girl who must overcome a childhood with a manipulative, crazy, destructive single mother. The cast is simply stunning: Wright Penn, Zellweger, and Pfeiffer in perhaps her greatest performance.
The situation is that an adolescent, when her mother goes to prison, must go into the foster care system. What she experiences, as is the stuff of narratives, is truly horrible. Any time that she builds a relationship, it is destroyed or revealed as worthless. Throughout all of this, she begins to see her birth mother for what she is, and seeks to go her own way.
But her mother, even from prison, can control events by the relationships she can create. All over again, it is like a recapitulation of the daughter's entire life, which spurs her to seek the truth even at the cost of traducing her inner self. They have a terrible fight, played almost entirely off stage but understood in moments of simple dialogue, that is the fight for the girl's life itself.
Alison Lohman, as the daughter, is simply extraordinary. There is not a moment that rings false or hollywood-chinsey, but her pain and struggle is achingly real. Of course, the character has some talent, as an artist like her mother, but also in her ability to form relationships. She has seen so much pain and self-destruction, that she learns she must fend for herself. I do not think I have ever seen a film that succeeds so completely as a coming of age drama of finding a path through the pain. She becomes tough, but she does not lose the perceptive sensitive core that might show her a way to become a healthy, loving adult. It is amazing to watch and there is not a jot of sentimentality, only realistic tragedy and growth for what it is worth.
Warmly recommended. This is a moving journey that says so much about what youth must survive through our pathetically damaged social system and deficient public policy. Lohman is amazing and so are the other stars. This a both great drama and social commentary.
The situation is that an adolescent, when her mother goes to prison, must go into the foster care system. What she experiences, as is the stuff of narratives, is truly horrible. Any time that she builds a relationship, it is destroyed or revealed as worthless. Throughout all of this, she begins to see her birth mother for what she is, and seeks to go her own way.
But her mother, even from prison, can control events by the relationships she can create. All over again, it is like a recapitulation of the daughter's entire life, which spurs her to seek the truth even at the cost of traducing her inner self. They have a terrible fight, played almost entirely off stage but understood in moments of simple dialogue, that is the fight for the girl's life itself.
Alison Lohman, as the daughter, is simply extraordinary. There is not a moment that rings false or hollywood-chinsey, but her pain and struggle is achingly real. Of course, the character has some talent, as an artist like her mother, but also in her ability to form relationships. She has seen so much pain and self-destruction, that she learns she must fend for herself. I do not think I have ever seen a film that succeeds so completely as a coming of age drama of finding a path through the pain. She becomes tough, but she does not lose the perceptive sensitive core that might show her a way to become a healthy, loving adult. It is amazing to watch and there is not a jot of sentimentality, only realistic tragedy and growth for what it is worth.
Warmly recommended. This is a moving journey that says so much about what youth must survive through our pathetically damaged social system and deficient public policy. Lohman is amazing and so are the other stars. This a both great drama and social commentary.
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Quick word to say this movie was OK....not that great,just OK. Worth renting but maybe not buying unless it's on sale!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
White Oleander
I was a little disappointed with this film. It had some good parts but on the whole, I wouldn't go out of my way to watch it again. The music however was lovely.
Published 15 months ago by Mrs. Hilary Hilton
white orleander
A powerful film about love and control. i bought this as michelle Pfeiffer but alison lohman was brilliant as young girl growing up with love from a mother in prison for murdering... Read more
Published on 9 July 2009 by Mr. Robert Sunley
Daughters trapped in their mothers' playthings
A girl born without a father and raised by a mother who is a real Machiavelli of love, has one day to face her own life through hell when her mother is sent to prison for the... Read more
Published on 25 Feb 2008 by Jacques COULARDEAU
Good but...
Another attempt at reproducing a book into a film. Michelle Pfeiffer is brilliant and her co star Amy Aquino makes a believable Astrid. Read more
Published on 26 Sep 2004 by Elodie
a very good film
This film is one that keeps you thinking about it a few days / weeks after you've seen it. The acting is excellent and the film has been very well produced and directed. Read more
Published on 3 Jun 2004 by Chris Gummey
Tepid version of the book
Alison Lohman stars as Astrid, an innocent teen thrust into the foster care system when her shrew of a mother (Michelle Pfeiffer) is convicted of murder. Read more
Published on 7 Dec 2003 by Kona
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