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Review: White Oleander

Review by THEVIXEN | 10/11/2002 | 11:04:39 AM PST

White Oleander is not a Lifetime Television for Women film?it?s a dark journey into self-exploration?and really, really good!

White Oleander tells the dark and tumultuous tale of Astrid Magnussen (Alison Lohman), a young girl who is thrown into the foster care system after her mother (Michelle Pfeiffer) is sent to jail for killing her boyfriend. Confused and alone, Astrid travels from one foster family to the next, each one more colorful and bizarre than the one before, and tries to shape her identity. While Astrid attempts to discover herself, she must also struggle with her strong-minded and oftentimes vicious mother who wants Astrid to be just like she is.

Astrid?s journey is one filled with spandex-wearing foster mothers who are born-again Christians, brutal beatings in foster homes, rummaging through trash to find sellable items, sex with an older man, and emotional instability?not to mention her horror of a mother who never approves of what she is becoming. The events that Astrid experiences are at times unbelievable and often shocking and disturbing?you want so bad to comfort this young girl who has had so much pain in her life.

But Astrid is a strong character?even if she doesn?t know it quite yet. As we watch her struggle, we also she her grow and learn, shedding her tough protective shell and becoming a new person separate from her mother?s grip. And while our own struggle to find ourselves may not be as difficult or as ugly as Astrid?s, many can relate to the hardships she faces while doing so. This is really what the core of the movie is about: finding yourself against all odds. The theme of self-discovery was a definite strong thread in the book of the same name by Janet Finch upon which the movie is based. And while the movie stays true to the author?s words, the film is more focused on Astrid?s time spent in and out of foster homes and the interaction with her mother in prison?and rightly so, as those are the most colorful parts of the book and can easily translate to the screen. But with such deep and complex characters as Astrid and her mother Ingrid (Michele Pfeiffer), it would have behooved the filmmakers, and thus the audience, to show a little more of her relationships with the non-starring characters?for example, a very important character in the book was only referred to and never physically appeared in the movie.

With such complicated and interesting characters, it?s no surprise that this movie garnered such top actresses as Pfeiffer and Renee Zellweger. It?s the first story to come around in a while that stars nearly all women in the leading and supporting roles and has characters with depth, color, and fierce emotions?very atypical in Hollywood these days. And each of the four leading women (Lohman, Pfeiffer, Zellweger, and Robin Wright Penn) gave amazing performances each worthy of an Oscar nomination. By far, though, Pfeiffer stood out. She literally became Ingrid right down to the cool emptiness in the eyes and the eerie smile. Zellweger and Wright Penn both fit their roles well, with Wright Penn earning the laughs for her portrayal and the gaudy born again Christian foster mom. And newbie Lohman definitely has a future ahead of her?she?s already starring in the upcoming Ridley Scott flick Matchstick Men with Nicolas Cage. Director Peter Kosminsky certainly brought out the character in each of the actresses even though he has few films under his belt. He?s a British producer/director best known in the U.S. for his award-winning British television films (Warriors), and he also directed a film on with a theme similar to White Oleander.

White Oleander is not by any means a ?Chick Flick.? Its narrative is gritty, disturbing, intense, shocking, funny, depressing, and hopeful all at once?I don?t think you can say the same thing about Clueless?or maybe you can. This is not a walk-in-the-park type of movie?but you should definitely stop and smell the flowers anyway.