Rating: 
Summary: Movie OK, Book Was Better
Review: Maybe I'm biased because I loved the book so much, but this movie just didn't do it for me. So much of the book was cut out that the story wasn't as powerful as it should have been. Also, I thought Renee Zellweger was horribly cast as Claire. However, Michelle Pfeiffer, Alison Lohman, and Patrick Fugit were wonderful.
Bottom line: If you really want to experience this powerful story, read the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent performances carry this film
Review: I haven't read the book this film was based on, so I can only judge it on its own merits. I thought it was very good. All the performances are excellent, especially Alison Lohman's, who, as the main character Astrid, carries the film with a subtle and mature performance. Michelle Pfeiffer, however, steals every scene she's in with her portrayal of Astrid's manipulative and vicious mother. Robin Wright Penn, Renée Zellweger and Patrick Fugit all do a good job portraying the characters Astrid meets while navigating through the foster care system. The film could easily have been cheesy and melodramatic, but the script and direction keep it grounded in reality, which makes Astrid's story all the more riveting.
Rating:
Summary: It seems great until you read the book
Review: Although the actresses cast in this film were an excellent choice, they can't make up for the fact that this script was like a cliff notes of the wonderful book by Janet Fitch. It's only been Astrid (Lohmann)and her egotistical artist mother Ingrid(Pfeffier)on their own. When Ingrid becomes involved with Barry (Billy Connelly), she is furious to find he's cheated on her. In return, she murders him. This part is told in micro-bits in flashback form throughout the movie, but was changed from the book (the script has her putting white oleanders, which are poisinous if eaten or found in the bloodstream, in Barry's milk. In the book, Ingrid takes Astrid to Mexico for a drug that makes medications absorb faster into the blood stream, mixes this with the oleanders, and laces Barry's doorknobs with it- a much more interesting plot). When Ingrid is arrested and convicted of Barry's murder, Astrid is left at the mercy of social services and a string of crazy foster homes. Astrid takes a piece from each homelife to build who she is to become. From Starr, the born-again Christian/trailer park trash (Robin Wright Penn)to suicidal out-of-work actress Claire (Zellweger), Astrid transforms herself. All the while, she visits her mother in prison. Ingrid, jealous and controlling, tries to make Astrid's life even more complicated by messing with her mind and interferring with her homelife. The movie makes Ingrid's character much more caring than the book did- if you think Michelle Pfieffer played this character cold and rough, you should read the book- Ingid was FAR WORSE. In one of the child services homes, Astrid meets Paul (Patrick Fugit from "Almost Famous"), another wayward teen with horrifc parents. Paul becomes the one constant in Astrid's life that she can depend on. What's the point of the whole story? That Ingrid has to let Astrid go, and Astrid realizes that all the women who've let her down in her life have formed the woman she is to become. If you've already read the book, don't expect too much from the film- crucial story lines from 2 other foster homes were deleted (no doubt to keep the movie within time constraints)that should have been kept in. Plus, you never get to see how hellacious Astrid's life is with Rena. Read the book as well as watch the movie- it will give you more perspective into Astrid's life.
Rating:
Summary: the struggle to be free
Review: the world can be a frustrating, soul sucking and brutal place at times. this is the world of astrid, a young teenager who is orphaned when her mother winds up in jail for a crime of passion. Bounced from foster home to foster home, Astrid finds disheartening situation after disheartening situation in her struggle to be free of the chains that hold her down. Michelle Feiffer puts in a wonderful performance as a mother with control issues and Renee Zelleweger gives a strong performance as a sucidial housewife. Robin Wright Penn plays beautifully a christian woman with marital issues but this movie begins and ends with Allison Lohman, who portrays Astrid.
A wonderfully bittersweet movie adapted form Janet Fitch's Novel that is both heart breaking and moving with a great cast.
The dvd features a trailer, two good behind the scenes documentaries and some addistonal scenes that were quite interesting.
Rating: 
Summary: awful!!
Review: if you've read the book and loved it, do not see this movie!! They cut it up so badly you wont even recognize it. They left sooo much out, things that needed to be there in order for the story to retain its integrity and just simply to make sence. Here the characters fall flat and are 2-dimensional,and the storyline is silly and incoherent. I really enjoyed the book and I dont expect the movie to be exactly like the book, but when they cut out a third of the novel, you kind of wonder did the people who made this movie understand what the book was really about?
Rating: 
Summary: Appears chick flick at a glance... definitely not so
Review: The cover and the tagline 'where does mother end and daughter begin' just cries Lifetime tearjerker watered down in sentiment. What I actually saw in White Oleander was an engaging, emotional (sentiment kept surprisingly low) film with an incredible cast. The opening credits (with the rundown NY apartment) are stark but Astrid's voice-over introduction is beautiful and haunting as her suitcase art is shown. Alison Lohman is vibrant, innocent, edgy, cynical and brutally honest as Astrid. Her performance was Oscar-worthy and it's a shame she wasn't even nominated. Her portrayal of Astrid's evolution was not only convincing, it showed her as an extremely versatile and talented new actress. Michelle Pheiffer is chilling as Ingrid, a character that I was unsure whether to symphathize with or hate. Her brutal manipulation of her daughter mixes with an obvious sense of love that is seemingly overcome by her bitter self-centered-ness and jealousy over Astrid's changing character. The essence of the character radiates from her face. Robin Wright Penn is both cruel and amusing as hypocritcal Starr, a trashy, lusty born-again Christian whose initial niceness dissolves into jealousy and rage. Her young foster son Davey (Marc Donato) is actually quite impressive as a nerdy, insecure young boy who bonds with Astrid, and Cole Hauser, right down to his rough, handsome look, embodies Starr's mostly good-natured but philandering boyfriend, Ray. This was the first movie I saw Renee Zellweger in, and this performance, being likely overshadowed by 'Chicago,' is stunning. Everything- her cherub-like face, the passive, and empathetic, softness of her voice, reflects the fragility and compassion of Claire. One of the parts I was actually drawn to most was that of Rena (Svetlana Efremova), the bohemian type Russian woman who was Astrid's final foster mother. She cares mostly about making money, which was obvious from her earlier scenes, but with her Astrid learns about the reality of facing life. Rena rejects all sentiment and patronization but her influence seems to effect Astrid the most. I particularly liked the scene where she and Astrid have a rather honest discussion at the house. By now Astrid has grown up, become hardened, cynical but retains her curiosity and fierce determination and artistry. Patrick Fugit is appropriate as Paul, an ambitious, lonely artist that provides one meaningful thing to Astrid in hellish McKinney Hall, and gives her hope at the end. In all, White Oleander is provoking, ethereal at times, emotional and is pulled together by a brilliant cast and an amazing musical score and unique camera angles. One of my favorite movies.
Rating:
Summary: Healing Sad
Review: The movie was good the book was excellent. I liked the way Alison Lohman portrayed Astrid. She is a girl who looks up to her mother, the mother willing this, wanting to be looked up to, modeled after. The acting by Michelle Pfeiffer is extremely well done. I could sense her character's feelings without them being spoken. Astrid is on a search, a hard one to find herself. It is not a path she choose at least consciously but one that happened. She has many sad turnings but seems to pull herself out of them. I liked the ending and how she chose art as a way to express herself and to show her path of healing. I really liked the boxes that she created for each passage of time. I liked the way they looked so beautiful. I wanted to really look at them more closely to see what they held. I only made out parts of the treasures she had amassed. I also liked that she found a guy that seem to accept her for who she was. They both had gone through some terrible times and seemed to support one another. I also loved the food that Renee's character cooked. I wish I could get the energy to just put out that kind of food after a day of being on the beach and shopping. I liked the way the gyspy type foster mother collected things out of the trash and sold them for lots of money, how funny and creative. Of course, I wouldn't want to dig to deep in a bin, Yuck! I thought both Astrid and Ingrid were so pretty with long blond hair. How sad that beauty was seen as a weapon by Ingrid. She was very smart but destructive, unfortunate. The ending between mother and daughter really hit me. I cryed for awhile. What a great symbol for the mother to give to her daughter, her freedom! I would definately recommend the book and the movie as well.
(...)
Rating:
Summary: A Great Movie
Review: This movie is a great movie, although I believe it didn't get the credit it deserved. This movie is also more of a chick flick to watch with you frieds, not you husband/boyfriend/brother (basicly any boy)
Rating:
Summary: Poisonous Minds
Review: I think that this film both succeeded and failed--dedpending on if you read the book or not. If you did not read the book, you will probably find the film to be strong, carried along by the performances and the inherent human interest factor of the story. However, if you read the book, you will be aghast at how the film version utterly lacks the novel's poetry and depth. The film obscures, in fact, it almost entirely obliterates the foundational opening chapters where the mother commits the murder--and HOW she commits it--for that is the key metaphor of the text. (In the commentary track we learn that this was an "artistic" decision, and that the sequences were filmed but excised in favor of a focus on Astrid's journey). The intimate intricacy of Ingrid's murder of Barry, achieved by extracting the poison from the plant, then painting it on doorknobs, handles, etc around his house (with a chemical added to accelerate absorbtion through the skin) is Ingrid's basic M.O. Barry dies because Ingrid weakened and allowed him to "touch" her;when he betrays her vulnerability she infiltrates his home, his computer, and eventually poisons him vis-a-vis his "touching" of objects. Ingrid "poisons" the minds and souls of everyone around her--her daughter, Clare, her politcal supporters, the system. Her characterological disturbance is insidious and profound. The film portray Ingrid as being "dangerous", but she is more than that--she is POISONOUS. It is not THAT she kills, but HOW she kills that is essential.It is not that she "manipulates" others, but that she seeps her way into their souls, contaminating them from within. That the film is insensible to the "poison" metaphor fatally weakens its ability to exert the emotional impact of the book. The filmakers opt for the metaphor of the "suitcases" which tell the tale of Astrid's journey from home to home--a rather banal and concrete sort of imago, furtively depicted at the film's beginning and end. Wow--how profound. It is healing and meaningful that Astrid conceives this expression of her pain, loss, and triumph--it just is a limp metaphor upon which to hang an entire film. The DVD commentary tracks serve as evidence for a series of aesthetic crimes that are committed upon the book in the process of making the film. Ms. Lohman's performance as Astrid is both delicate and powerful, and carries the film. Michelle Pfieffer is overly strident, but then, the filmakers have left her as a hollow, one-note character due to the omission of her very nature from the script. Robin Wright-Penn is fabulous as Star, the alcoholic, not-quite born again trailer-trash ex-stripper who is Astrid's foster "birth" mother. Some of her best scenes are the ones that were "deleted" from the final cut, but which luckily survive as DVD "extras". (Although this is a "chick flick", guys will appreciate the scene in the dressing room, where Robin W-P unabashedly preens about in heels and undies--revealing a sculpted, sinuous frame that any real stripper would kill for). The film sort of tanks after Star attempts to "cash Astrid's check". The Rene Zellweger sequence is weakened by the film's rush to her pathetic death; she, too, is poisoned by Ingrid and by the coldness & infidelity of her husband, dispensed while on loan from ER. Patrick Fugit is on the mark as Paul. The later sequences of Astrid's hardening in the final foster home, and the long-awaited confrontation with Mommie Queerest are quite good, but the damage is done by then. Astrid's emancipation and triumph are tepidly achieved by virtue of her merely survivng the ordeal--rather than her being gradually purified and revived after the deep-tissue poisoning by Ingrid and the system. Maybe a Director's Cut, with all the excised and deleted scenes, could revivify this film. Unfortunately, listening to the commentary clearly indicates that what we see here IS the Director's Cut, so see this film "as is" and then go read the book for the full repast.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite movie...
Review: This movie was the highlight of my year. First of all, it made me realize some things about movie critics. A critic from one of my favorite pop culture magazines shrugged it off, claiming he was getting an "estrogen overload." I am highly dissappointed that people aren't looking at this film as its own, but they are looking at it as an adaptation or "just another chick flick." I must address the important issue that this is not a redundant film, it is unique. And everyone needs to realize that adapted screenplays always have to be different in some way from the previous material that was used. For instance, the book of the same name used the white oleander as a metaphor, but the movie makers chose to use suitcases as a metaphor instead, probably because it's an easier thing to work with. No one seems to realize this. It made me sad that one of my favorite movies was so badly recieved just because of two innane reasons. The synopsis is as follows: The movie starts out with Astrid (Alison Lohman) and Ingrid (Michelle Pheiffer) Magnussen, both artists (the former a painter and the latter a photographer) who try to see the world in an independent way. Unfortunately, Astrid is not allowed to see or live in the world as herself, but as her mother. Her mother is much like an oleander: Beautiful on the outside but poisinous on the inside. She has already "rubbed off" on Astrid. And when Ingrid murders her womanizing boyfriend and is sent to prison, Astrid is finally set free, but only physically. Throughout the movie, she goes from foster house to foster house. First is the former-stripper, trailer trash, Christian woman Starr (Robin Wright-Penn). Second is the beautiful and loving Claire (Renee Zellwegger) who holds a dark secret. And the last is a Russian woman (played by an unknown actress) who only loves money. In between these experiences, she is put in the infamous McKinnly Hall, where she meets another artist, Paul. The movie is ultimately about how all of these different homes and people influence her behavior and how she finds her self seperate from her mother. It is, truly, a powerfull story. The best thing about this movie was the acting. Michelle Pheiffer and Alison Lohmon were the best, along with Robin Wright-Penn. Renee Zellwegger was also great, but had the easiest role in the cast. I believe that Pheiffer and Lohman were both robbed of Oscar Nominations, with Queen Latifah and Renee Zellwegger in place of them. But fortunately, Allison Lohman will be appearing in two movies this fall, one of which is the movie Big Fish which is apparantly Oscar-bound. Watch out for her. She is destined to be one of the great actresses of our time. Another key part of this film is the haunting score. The music constantly makes you shiver with curiosity and wonder. It really is an achievement in its own right. What I also noticed were the colors. At Ingrid's home, it was almost completely blank, relying on Ingrid's collages to decorate the walls. I believe this represents her influence. Everything in Starr's home seemed to be pretentious and fake. Nothing seemed real, much like Starr, who tries to be something that she is not. And Claire's home is a constant white that I think means comfort in Astrid's eyes. And at the Russian woman's home, everything is black and crimson, representing her drastic change and dangerous enviroment. Also pay attention to how the movie is filmed. The commentary stated it is mostly filmed with handheld, giving this movie a wonderful sense of reality. Bottom Line: This movie was highly underappreciated and I believe that if you view it from a non-biased standpoint you will fall in love with every element of this film. (I gave it an A and it is number 2 on my Top Ten Favorite Movies List)
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