Rating: 
Summary: White-washed script
Review: Having read the novel, White Oleander, and been amazed and horrified at its raw, searing power, I was anxious to see the dvd. The film is amazing in its own way, too; amazingly shallow and trite.Alison Lohman stars as Astrid, the innocent young teen who is thrust into the foster care system when her shrew of a mother (Michelle Pfeiffer) is convicted of murder. Astrid is first sent to Starr (Robin Wright Penn), a trashy, Bible-thumping trailer tramp who ends up shooting Astrid for trysting with her boyfriend. The next foster "mother" is Claire (Renee Zellweger), a needy, lonely actress-.... who commits suicide. The last stop is the flea-market life of savy, drugs, and rock and roll. Astrid also stays at the county childrens home, where she meets Paul (Nick Fugit), a sensitive loner, artist, and soul-mate. Astrid's visits to her mother in prison are confrontational and serve as opportunities to pull away from her mother's vicious grasp. The script sounded like a first draft, a summary, a roll-call of characters; it lacked any emotional depth or character development. The direction was simplistic. Apparently someone thought, "What a great idea: Take some beautiful, famous actresses and put them together and make a feminist statement!" In fact, the actresses are wasted in small, undeveloped parts, with the exception of Lohman, who carries the film. The three adult parts lack grit and fire; The film needed the mother's psychotic hatred and the utter selfishness and cruelty of the "foster mothers" that made the novel so unforgettable. The dvd extras are unremarkable, except to show many of the best scenes ended up on the cutting room floor. I cannot recommend this film, but those interested in a real look at the damage that can be done in the foster care system should read White Oleander by Janet Fitch.
Rating: 
Summary: A horrible adaptation
Review: I loved the book version of this movie but when I was done watching it, I was rather upset. They had taken away the emotional depth of this story. They had sucked away the vibrancy of the characters and taken away important plot arcs that had made the story so good in the first place. Ingrid, who was my favorite character had became the water downed version of herself. Overall, I hated this movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Highly emotional
Review: "White Oleander" marks Alison Luhrman's remarkable debut as a child whose mother, Michelle Pfeiffer, is imprisoned for murder. This is one of the most underrated movie released in 2002. The writers give it a unique flavor. They allow the audience to feel the emotion that the characters are feeling. More today's movies need this. The actors express themselves splendidly. The characters' paintings give the scenes the added touch, which relate to them more than it seems. "White Oleander" proves that the seemingly perfect relationships and lives are never really perfect. They can fall apart. One will not be disappointed after watching this well crafted movie. In fact, one will be enlightened.
Rating: 
Summary: Powerful movie!!
Review: This is a powerful movie.I felt the misery of the main character, Astrid (wonderfully acted by Alison Lohman)the whole movie. This is definitely one of the better dramas out there. I was a bit let down by it's Hollywood ending, but Michelle Pfeiffer's incredible acting helped selling it. A must-see for every drama fan.
Rating:
Summary: Could have been so much better.
Review: This movie was a huge diapointment for me. I made the mistake of setting a high standard for it considering I really enjoyed the book. I would recommend the movie but only to some one who has read the book but I would be sure to let you know that if you enjoyed the book the acting quality, casting director, as well as script and consept changes would be a huge let down. Most of the magic from the book was gone and there were some major (and fairly trite) plot changes that left me wondering why Janet Fitch would ever alow them to do this to her book. Even if this movie hadn't been based on an increable book I still would not like or recomend the movie. I would say it was an idea that could have been worked with beautifuly- but insted it was slaped together and released to the public.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing Movie.
Review: This is one of the few movies that i can say have changed my life. This movie has so many quotes that i have used in expressing myself and situations. The actors/acctresses in this movie are Great! A better casting could not have been done. This movie is a tribute to the book that has been loved by millions. The movies plot and protrailes of caracters and actions are amazing. This is one of thoose movies that when you leave the theater you feel so impacted. Most people i know have even bought this film they have loved it so much. So I highly recomend that you buy this movie. The best thing you can do is buy this movie and the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent and Cowardly
Review: I will start this review by saying that I have never read the book White Oleander. Though after seeing the movie I may do so. The movie is the story of Astrid, fifteen years old, after her narcisstic and cruel mother goes to jail for murdering her boyfriend. Astrid is then sent to foster care where she lives first with a trashy bible-thumper woman who ends up shooting Astrid after becoming jealous of Astrid's relationship with the woman's boyfriend, then in a juvenile center where she is attacked, then with a woman loves Astrid but ends up committing suicide over her cheating husband (an action taken at the encouragement of Astrid's jailed mother), then back to the juvenile center, finally to a Russian woman's home teaches Astrid, if not morality, to take care of herself. It's a bumpy ride that Astrid struggles to try growing up in. I enjoyed the movie quite a lot. The actors are all excellent. The movie is moody in the extreme. The use of light and dark, the seemingly normal that is abnormal, and shifting camera angles really draw the viewer into the story. The story does a lot to demonstrate the horrors of foster care, the difficulty faced by attractive girls, and the idiocy of the juvenile care systems. Shown, too, is how real the mental/emotional abuse is that a parent can heap upon their child, without ever touching them physically. Where I think this movie went wrong is right at the end. When the mother 'does the right thing' and allows Astrid to get on with her life, I felt that was a totally cowardly ending. This character was a cruel woman who would never, in a million years, sacarficed her freedom from jail in order to help her daughter. It would never have happened and I think the movie story just chickened out for a happy ending.
Rating:
Summary: a daughter defines her own identity
Review: it is not primarily a coming-of-age story. although elements are there. it is a good story about a mother that kills her boyfriend, thus forcing her daughter to spend from 15-18 in a foster care system, while learning to cope with the slowly dawning realization that she is very much like her mother yet not wanting to end up like her. We give our children our genes, we care for them when they are young and unable to care for themselves. We are their first and probably strongest role models. All things considered in is amazing that any of us reach adulthood intact or worse yet how any of us manage to raise reasonably decent kids. So much can go wrong. And in this movie most of it does for the young girl who looses her mother to the penal system and becomes a victim of the foster care system herself. Pretty, talented, sensitive, questioning, aware. And now alone. She bounces from misery to crisis for 3 years while fighting her mother in order to define herself and learn who she is. Its a good story, well written, sensitively filmed and a real treat. If you watch the DVD watch the director's conversation after the movie so it will answer a few questions left on the cutting room floor that would have helped a bit with the continuity. Otherwise it is an excellent movie and worth the time to watch and reflect.
Rating:
Summary: Choppy version of the book.
Review: I never read the book and had only the basic idea of the plot when I rented this DVD. After I watched this movie I STILL only had a basic idea of the plot. Astrid's mother is hauled away from her artists studio and placed in prison for murdering her wayward lover. Astrid herself spends the next few years bouncing around from one dysfunctional foster family to another. In each home she begins to make herself over in the shadow of her foster mother. Every time Astrid sees her Mother in prison the murderess manages to drag the child away from whatever happiness and comfort she has. As Astrid matures, she rejects her mother's views and manages to start her own life. The problem with this film was that it was so cut to ribbons in the editing room that nothing made sense. There is a character who appears for about 1/2 second in a flashback but what his purpose was is never made clear. Are we supposed to believe that Ingrid could possibly be innocent of the murder during some portion of the film ? How was the guy killed anyway ? I know that the book would have answered these questions, not because I read the book but because they kept talking about it in the 'commentary' track on the audio. The most frequent phrase on that track is "We cut that out to make for a tighter story" . I think they meant to make it a more confusing story and to remove the chance of the viewer developing any emotional attachment the characters. It worked for me !
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful movie with gorgeous stars
Review: This was one movie from 2002 that I was very happy to get and then watch. This movie was very poignant and just beautiful. How can you go wrong with actresses such as Michelle Pfeiffer, Renee Zellweger, Robin Wright Penn among others and a script that was wonderful. A real winner!!
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