White Oleander

Germany, United States

2002

109 Min

Color

1.85:1

English

Currently 3.3/5 Stars.
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SCR Janet Fitch, Mary Agnes Donoghue

CAST Alison Lohman, Robin Wright, Michelle Pfeiffer, Renée Zellweger, Amy Aquino, John Billingsley, Elisa Bocanegra, Billy Connolly, Patrick Fugit, Cole Hauser, Taryn Manning, Noah Wyle

Astrid Magnussen is a 15 year old girl, living in California. Her mother, Ingrid, is a beautiful, free-spirited poet. Their life, though unusual, is satisfying until one day, a man named Barry Kolker (that her mother refers to at first as “The goat man”) comes into their lives, and Ingrid falls madly in love with him, only to have her heart broken, and her life ruined. For revenge, Ingrid murders Barry with the deadly poison of her favourite flower: The White Oleander. She is sent to prison for life, and Astrid has to go through foster home after foster home. Throughout nearly a decade she experiences forbidden love, religion, near-death experiences, drugs, starvation, and how it feels to be loved. But throughout these years, she keeps in touch with her mother via letters to prison. And while Ingrid’s gift is to give Astrid the power to survive, Astrid’s gift is to teach her Mother about love. —IMDb.com

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narni

30Nov11

A beautiful, thought-provoking movie

Tisa

3Oct11

Of course the novel is far better, but this adaptation isn't bad either. Worth 3 stars, at least.

ddcraver

17Dec10

I'd seen this before... however, I was at the time still something of an "unskilled" consumer. "Uneven" (IMHO) is a fair assessment, though I wouldn't say I was indifferent - I found parts of this film to be extremely powerful. Solid performances throughout... in fact, among Michelle Pfeiffer's best - however, Alison Lohman's performance is clearly the standout... as usual, she is an intangible ethereal spark...