White Oleander (Widescreen)
by Peter Kosminsky
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DVD details
Actor: Alison Lohman, Amy Aquino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ren?e Zellweger, Robin Wright PennDirector: Peter Kosminsky
Brand: Warner Brothers
Producer: E.K. Gaylord II
Producer: Hunt Lowry
Producer: Ilyse A. Reutlinger
Producer: John Wells
Producer: Kristin Harms
Writer: Janet Fitch
Writer: Mary Agnes Donoghue
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Letterboxed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 109 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-03-11
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Reviews of White Oleander (Widescreen)
DVD Review: 2.5 stars out of 4
Summary: 3 Stars
The Bottom Line:
As breezy as it is forgettable, White Oleander engages the viewer in its story of foster homes and relationships but never makes anything substantial out of its plot or characters.
DVD Review: Great cast, good movie
Summary: 5 Stars
Never read the novel, but this screen version looked great to me. Much better than I expected. Excellent script, and just enough action to keep you hooked. Michelle Pfeiffer is a bit unbelievable as the evil mother, though. Nobody stays looking that good in prison.DVD Review: Excellent
Summary: 5 Stars
It is likely that if you enjoyed "Speak" (2004) you will connect with "White Oleander" (2002). Both are based on novels about a traumatized teenage girl who overcomes mega-adversity; heroines who get stronger as the story progresses. Both are told entirely from the point-of- view of this central character; Melinda (Kristen Stewart) in "Speak" and Astrid (Alison Lohman) in "White Oleander". Both actresses are physically small and the directors in each film effectively utilize this to reinforce their vulnerability.
And each Cinematographer gets maximum effect from the camera as both films are filled with tight shots of the heroine's face. Like Stewart, Lohman gives an incredible non-verbal performance, which is nicely offset by her voice-over narration. Astrid's flat and distanced narration is often contradicted by the crushing emotional trauma she is experiencing on the screen, this dichotomy is a very effective way to illustrate her inner strength and multi- dimensionality.
"White Oleander's" strength is the way it soft-peddles the overwrought melodrama by skimping on the "Mommie Dearest" moments. Instead of a focus on the relationship between an imprisoned mother (Ingrid-played Michelle Pfeiffer) and her abandoned daughter, the film is about Astrid's journeys; her physical travels around the Los Angeles area to different foster care situations and her internal journey from dependency to independence.
Mother and daughter are both artists (although Astrid is also an observer) and the director symbolically incorporates color into the story. White is "Ingrid's color and Astrid's eventual independence occurs when she adopts black as her color late in the film. When she finally comes to terms with how much of her mother is in her, she returns to white.
The blondes are out in force as Robin Wright Penn and Renee Zellweger play two of Astrid's foster mothers. All three supporting performances are excellent. Pfeiffer plays a humorless version of her "I Could Never Be Your Woman" mother; a mix of ascetically refined artist and imperious sociopath. Lohman has all of Pfeiffer's delicate beauty so the mother-daughter connection requires no suspension of disbelief.
Astrid's foster kid desperation for family leads her to adopt the characteristics of her caretakers, adopting religion while with born-again ex-stripper Starr (Wright Penn) and yuppie indulgence while with depressed actress Claire (Zellweger). There's a tragic quality to Claire that is unlike anything Zellweger has done before. She is the anathema of Astrid's chilly, threatened mother.
This is a film where the make-up and hair people earned their pay as Astrid's adaptation and life changes are underscored with very effective changes in her physical appearance.
As in "Speak" flashbacks are effectively used at points throughout the story.
The DVD special features commentary is about as good as it gets. The author Janet Fitch is featured along with Director Peter Kosminsky and Producer John Wells. Fitch seems quite pleased with the adaptation of her novel and seems to get it that a modest budget feature film can only focus on a portion of her original story.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
DVD Review: Almost as Good as the Book
Summary: 5 Stars
I watched this movie and was impressed...It is just about as good as the book...but I was not bored with watching a movie made about the book like some. This movie was interesting in that the characters were well picked for the roles they played and so after watching this movie and thinking about it for about a week...well I had to watch it again. It is always sad to realize that life out there is not always a bed of roses. One has to mull the fact that within the system where children are placed in "foster homes"---how many come out unscathed? This was so good that I went back and re-read the novel...and to think---I almost parted with that novel...But a friend of mine said it was brilliant and so she was right...After re-reading and re-watching...A++++DVD Review: Quick ship - Perfect Condition
Summary: 5 Stars
I loved this movie. Michelle Pfeiffer's character was so creepy, and she WAS her character. Especially her eyes - from the long stares to the furtive glances. Even her supposed redemption was negated by her eyes - glance, stare, meaning behind the act. The story was heart-rending, and the movie is NOT for those looking for action and Rambo. This is just a well-acted and directed movie with a very real story and happy ending.
Description of White Oleander (Widescreen)
White Oleander chronicles the life of Astrid (Alison Lohman), a young teenager who journeys through a series of foster homes after her mother (Michelle Pfeiffer) goes to prison for committing a crime of passion. Set adrift in the world, Astrid struggles to become her own person while coming to terms with the challenges of living life on her own.Fine performances and sensitive direction keep White Oleander from being a routine tearjerker. Adapted from Janet Fitch's bestseller (an Oprah's Book Club selection), this hard-edged drama boasts a reputable cast, but 23-year-old newcomer Alison Lohman steals the film from her A-list costars. As a troubled teen whose controlling mother (Michelle Pfeiffer) has been jailed for murder, Lohman is the film's heart and soul, bouncing between foster homes and rushing toward independence in a world of disappointing adults. After surviving episodic stints with a trashy born-again Christian (Robin Wright Penn), a suicidal housewife (Ren?e Zellweger), and a Russian immigrant (Zvetlana Efremova), she finds comfort with another outcast (Patrick Fugit), leaving behind the mothers who failed her. Making his feature directorial debut, British stage and TV veteran Peter Kosminsky creates a showcase for formidable actresses, each given moments to shine. White Oleander lacks the emotional depth of Fitch's novel, but it speaks volumes about the delicate balance of freedom and responsibility. --Jeff Shannon
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