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Rating:  - Amazing performances!!
Listen guys...do not get put off by the fact this movie appears on the surface to be a 'chick flick'. Yes, the storyline is all about 'mothers and daughters' and yes, much of the dynamics of those kinds of relationships will escape even the more sensitive of my gender, but wait. This movie also contains three of the most outstanding performances by three talented women I have ever witnessed. Relative newcomer Alison Lohman does her 'trademark thang' (in case you haven't seen Matchstick Men or Where The Truth Lies, Alison has an uncanny ability to pass as a young teen or a 20-something woman) very well in this movie and watching her work is, in itself, worth the price of admission. But even better than what Alison does with her central role are the positvely mold-breaking performances from Michelle, Robin, and Rene. Pow! Your eyes may still be high and dry at movie's end, but I guarantee you'll be nodding your head, or pumping your fist, or genuflecting in acknowledgment of the way you were pulled past the very attractive surfaces and sucked into the characters of these four women. Where'd I put that replay button?
Rating: - Terrific, Captivating Film
This movie is absolutely beautiful. I've never read the book, so I can't say how they compare. The acting is raw and perfect. Alison Lohman takes her character through drastic transitions ever so smoothly. The story moves very quickly, while still delivering continuity.
I've seen this movie just about 10 times already, and I'm still not sick of it. I rented it years ago out of curiosity, and was instantly engrossed by it. It is definitely one of my favorite movies of all time.
Rating: - White Oleander
I was required to read this book while working toward my MSW in Vermont. The story stayed with me. Anyone who enjoys a movie that deals with relationship development would want to see this movie. The acting brings the story to life in a realistic way. Watch it when you are not needing a comedy.
Rating:  - Read the book, skip the movie
The movie doesn't come even close to the raw truth documented in the book. If you really want to understand Astrid and the story's uplifting ending, you must read the book.
Rating:  - About mothers and daughters
Astrid is a young girl who lives with her mother who is an artist until her mother does something wrong is and sent to prison. Astrid is forced to live under foster care. Her first forster family is bad, her forster mother is jealous of her. Her second is better, the woman and Astrid have a great time together and bond just like a real mother and daughter. But then she dies and Astrid is back at the foster home where some dumb boy tries to be her boyfriend. She's not into him, though. Astrid has to spend her teenage years in foster homes while she makes weekly vists to her mother in jail. Her mother still tries to control Astrid's life even behind bars. She won't let Astrid grow up and Astrid starts to rebel. She dyes her hair dark, becomes goth and smokes. She tells her mother to "let her go" and that when her mother looks at her, she doesn't like what she sees. She says that she raised Astrid to think like her, but that she isn't like her mother. Her mother starts to understand and by the end of the movie, Astrid is twenty living with her boyfriend while her mother rots in jail. Astrid grew up through the tramatic youth she had, and surivied. She still knows her mother loves her, even though the audience knows her mother is really the villan and the cause of this poor young lady's problems. Alison Lohman, one of my favorite actresses, is amazing in this film and Michelle Pfeiffer plays her bad mother. Not as good as "Divine Secrets" but still entertaining.
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