White Oleander

source: White Oleander

With the delightful Ms Pfeiffer and even more delighful Ms Lohman one would thought this movie was going to hope to get by on its looks alone but this is quite far from the truth. With quite an entertaining storyline and strong performances from both lead characters the central theme of a destructive family life give us a very enterting albeit a bit sad reason to sit through the entire movie. The sign of a well made film is that it has reached the end before you realise it which is a good thing in my book. Yes if you havent already this is well worth a look.

Excellent book, but as usual, the reading of the book made me hate the movie. I try and try to see a movie as its own entity, knowing that it's virtually impossible to really grasp the soul of a novel on screen (one exception: Stephen King's "Misery") However, this one was especially over-simplified and disjointed. I could see what the director was trying to do with the flashbacks and nightmare sequences, but I found myself explaining the story to my friend who hadn't read the book. I would rank this movies as a good advertisement for the book, but not a good movie in it's own right.

The book was truly amazing, but the movie did not match up to the book at all. I understand you cannot include everything from the book, but they could have made at least an attempt with the screenplay. Please, if you see the movie, read the book. If you read the book, do not see the movie.

White Oleander is a decent movie featuring above-par acting and good production values. Unfortunately, though, where the novel was moving, the film is merely sentimental. It is not a bad movie by any means, but the character-driven plot that worked so well in the book feels a bit too disjointed and claustrophobic on film. 6/10

It was 'good', but depressing. This movie is story about broken people coping with the tragedies of life, fate and choices. Character development was outstanding (and, as it stands, the only thing keeping this train-wreck from happening). Pfeiffer was great as a deceptively beautiful, evil broken-hearted single mom. They were a little too liberal with the editing (if you're going to go there, might as well go all the way), but the jist was there even if the point was watered down for the masses.

Those who enjoy scrutiny of others' lives a little too much tout some pretty awful fare, and White Oleander aspired to be just what they were looking for, complete with two-dimensional characterizations (teenagers without the slightest scrap of an identity, controlling parents and pseudoparents, rednecks and jet-setting professionals) and enough "dramatic pauses" to make Bill Shatner look into legal options. Ultimately, I suspect it appealed to an audience much narrower than the writers expected. In novel format, this story (I haven't read it) could very easily be so much more, but as a movie it's a rushed juggling of generalizations and predictable "dramatic turns".

I saw this movie this past weekend on video and I thought it was really good. A mother who dances with danger and a daughter trying to pry herself from her mother's grip. I was glad to see Astrid grow and learn so much. If her mother had not gone to prison, she may not learned some valuable lessons such as love and salvation. Very deep and dark but well worth the time and money.

Lohman and particularly Pfeiffer give outstanding performances as an innocent daughter and hard-nosed mother who are split apart when they are both put in prison, one physically and one mentally - Pfeiffer goes to jail for murder and Lohman is stuck in foster care. It's easy to forget how great Pfeiffer is at playing bad guys (Batman Returns anyone?) but here she reminds us what made her great. Lohman is a star in the making, never resorting to OTT hysterics in what could have been a bad movie of the week about foster care. The film isn't perfect, but she keeps you glued to the screen throughout. The only real flaw was a weak 'spiritual' ending, but otherwise I was not disappointed. The almost documentarian cinematography, the performances by the above and Renee Zellweger/Robin Wright, and Thomas Newman's score are subtle but affecting. With this, Matchstick Men and Big Fish under her belt already, Lohman is definitely one to watch in future.

There is not one smidgeon of reality in this film. Michele Pfeiffer is in prison for murder, and still she manages to shampoo her hair every day and achieve that glossy sheen available only in television commercials??? Has anyone connected to this film ever actually been to a woman's prison? Has anyone ever been to a halfway house for kids? Bad photography, bad editing and oh, such a bad script. When will Hollywood go back to making movies that tell a compelling story (this one isn't - it's wishy washy to the extreme)in a believable context? Did anyone ever see Susan Hayward in I WANT TO LIVE???? Now THAT was a woman in prison. Did anyone ever see OLIVER TWIST???? Now THAT was a child struggling against adversity. Did anyone ever see MILDRED PIERCE??? Now THAT was a mother-daughter relationship.