Guide Rating -

Tagline: "Where does a mother end and a daughter begin?"

Length: 110 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for mature thematic elements concerning dysfunctional relationships, drug content, language, sexuality and violence

I had read Janet Fitch's novel "White Oleander," and I was curious to see what the film made from it was like. My interest was heightened by the fact that Michelle Pfeiffer, Renée Zellweger, Robin Wright Penn, and Alison Lohman were in the movie. When I watched "White Oleander" on DVD, I enjoyed it. In fact, I thought the movie was slightly better than the book. Also, the DVD comes with some reasonably good bonus materials, which I have listed below.

The central character in "White Oleander" is Astrid Magnussen (Lohman), who is about 15 years old when the movie version of her story begins. An only child, she has grown up never knowing who her father was. Astrid lives in LA with her mother Ingrid (Pfeiffer), a strong-willed, self-centered woman whose lifestyle is bohemian. When a teacher asks Astrid if her mother is coming to parents' night, Astrid explains to him, "She's an artist. She doesn't care about things like parents' night."

Still, all seems to be going reasonably well for Astrid until her mother gets into a sexual relationship with a man named Barry Kolker. One day Barry makes love to Ingrid, then tells her she has to leave because he has a date. The scorned Ingrid murders Barry and is put away in a maximum-security prison for 35 years to life. The teenage Astrid must spend the next three years in foster homes.

Astrid's first foster home is in a trailer park that's a fairly long drive out of LA. Her foster mother is Starr (Wright Penn), a born-again Christian who was formerly a topless dancer, alcoholic, and cokehead. Much to Ingrid's disgust, Astrid gets baptized by an Assembly of God minister. But eventually an intense conflict arises between Astrid and Starr that results in a shooting, and Astrid is forced to move on.

Astrid's second foster home is in a nice house in Malibu, where her foster mother is a childless woman named Claire (Zellweger). A failed actress in an unhappy marriage, Claire becomes a foster mother because she yearns for companionship. Astrid is contented for a while, but eventually Claire's emotional problems lead to tragedy, and Astrid must again move on.

Astrid's final foster home is somewhere back in LA, where her foster mother is a Russian émigrée named Rena (Svetlana Efremova). Rena keeps foster children so they can help her gather and prepare junk for resale at flea markets. Living with Rena doesn't require much emotional involvement and gives Astrid the space to start to find herself.

As Astrid nears the age where she can set off on her own, she is approached by her mother's lawyer, Susan Valeris. Ingrid is to be retried for Barry's murder, and the attorney wants Astrid to lie on the witness stand to help her mother's case. When Astrid visits Ingrid in prison to talk the situation over, emotions run high for both mother and daughter.

I think the performances in "White Oleander" are terrific. Alison Lohman does a fine job as Astrid, a teenage girl who has to figure things out for herself when all the adults around her fail to be supportive. Michelle Pfeiffer as Astrid's mother comes across as beautiful and poisonous, like the white oleander flowering plants seen along Southern California freeways. Renée Zellweger, Robin Wright Penn, and Svetlana Efremova seem right as Astrid's foster mothers, all of whom have too many problems of their own to be of much help to Astrid.

I was impressed by the sense of place in "White Oleander," and I say that as a Los Angeles native and longtime Southern California resident. I think the film captures the feel of the area very well. I do hope, though, that the real-life MacLaren Children's Center isn't as brutal as the fictional McKinney Hall is depicted to be in the movie.

Although I enjoyed "White Oleander," there are things about it that disappointed me. Many individual scenes are very effective, but there's a choppiness to the movie that makes it seem like it's made for someone with a short attention span. There's some good dialogue, but the film is a rather literal-minded adaptation of the novel, and I would have preferred something more visual. I found a few scenes completely unconvincing, and I would have liked the film better if it had more of an edge. Still, "White Oleander" has enough going for it that I think it's well worth seeing.

Special Features of the DVD:

• Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1)
  
• English Dolby Surround 5.1
  
• French Dolby Surround 5.1 (Dubbed in Quebec)
  
• English Subtitles
  
• French Subtitles
  
• Spanish Subtitles
  
• Audio Commentary by Director, Producer, Novel Author
  
• Additional Scenes
  
• The Journey of White Oleander
  
• The Making of White Oleander
  
• Cast & Crew
  
• Theatrical Trailer