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White Oleander
2002
WHITE OLEANDER, is the tale of an intense and toxic mother-daughter relationship, coupled with a look at the fundamentally skewed U.S. foster care system. When the beautiful photographer Ingrid Magnusson (Michelle Pfeiffer) is imprisoned for allegedly murdering a philandering boyfriend, her daughter Astrid (Alison Lohman) does .. Read more
| Starring | Alison Lohman, Michelle Pfeiffer, Billy Connolly, Renee Zellweger |
|---|---|
| Director | Peter Kosminsky |
| Genres | Drama |
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White Oleander
WHITE OLEANDER, is the tale of an intense and toxic mother-daughter relationship, coupled with a look at the fundamentally skewed U.S. foster care system. When the beautiful photographer Ingrid Magnusson (Michelle Pfeiffer) is imprisoned for allegedly murdering a philandering boyfriend, her daughter Astrid (Alison Lohman) does her best to survive a string of foster homes where natural adolescent mistakes turn into land mines. Her first stop is the home of a born-again Christian, Starr (Robin Wright Penn, who is so good in this part she's physically unrecognisable.) Next, she is sent to the home of a clinically depressed actress, Claire Richards (Renee Zellweger, whose natural effervescence is delightfully disturbing here.) Claire uses Astrid to fill the void left by a roaming husband (Noah Wyle). Astrid juggles her list of changing homes with visits to Mummy Dearest in prison, while suffering flashbacks of the alleged murder.
| Starring | Alison Lohman, Michelle Pfeiffer, Billy Connolly, Renee Zellweger, Robin Wright Penn |
|---|---|
| Director | Peter Kosminsky |
| Studio | REDBUS |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 45 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 20 Feb 2004 Production year: 2002 |
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Critics' reviews (2)
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It would have been easy to rework Janet Fitch's bestseller — a teenager is fostered out after her artist mother is jailed for murdering her lover — as a stellar TV movie, particularly as director Peter Kosminsky has some pedigree on the small-screen with such recent offerings as The Project and Warriors. But he rejects the melodrama-by-numbers option and uses attention-grabbing imagery to convey much of the confusion Alison Lohman feels after Michelle Pfeiffer's arrest. Moreover, his assured grasp of structure and pacing, and some accomplished acting, ensure that we only gradually come to appreciate the shifting nature of their relationship, as Lohman learns to think for herself while living with Robin Wright Penn's trailer-park Christian, Renée Zellweger's touchingly tragic actress and Svetlana Efremova's wily hustler.
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'Don't cry! We are Vikings!' instructs Ingrid (a parodically highfalutin' Pfeiffer) to her poor suffering daughter... read more on Time Out
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Most helpful member's review
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40 out of 50 people found this review helpful
Late blooming film
White Oleander is a clunky title for a fairly smooth ride of a film, one which takes the viewer on a journey through the teenage years of Astrid, as she copes ... more
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Most recent members' review
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News and features
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Grint and Pattinson up for royal role
- 04 Oct 2009
Rupert Grint and Robert Pattinson have both been tipped to play Prince Harry in a movie about the monarch's life. Director Peter Kosminsky is set to begin casting for biopic The Spare, which will depict the royal's experience losing his mother Princess Diana and serving for the Army in Afghanistan. The filmmaker is said to be considering British actors Grint and Pattinson for the lead, as well as Pride and Prejudice star Rupert Friend, according to Britain's Daily Star newspaper. Kosminsky... Read more
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White Oleander
WHITE OLEANDER, is the tale of an intense and toxic mother-daughter relationship, coupled with a look at the fundamentally skewed U.S. foster care system. When the beautiful photographer Ingrid Magnusson (Michelle Pfeiffer) is imprisoned for allegedly murdering a philandering boyfriend, her ...
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