White Oleander (2002)
I watched White Oleander, the drama based on Janet Fitch’s novel by the same name, this weekend.
I watched White Oleander (2002), the drama based on Janet Fitch’s novel by the same name, this weekend. Starring Michelle Pfeiffer as Ingrid Magnussen and Alison Lohman as her daughter Astrid, this film portrays Astrid’s life in the foster care system after her mom is sent to prison for murdering her ex-boyfriend. Used to living in Ingrid’s shadow, Astrid tries on different identifies, religions, and hairstyles as her home environment and once strong relationship with her mother shift. Watch for Michelle’s stellar performance as an icy artist and single mother—reminiscent of Kerry Washington’s Mia Warren in Little Fires Everywhere—Renée Zellweger as an unsuccessful and lonely actress, and a smoky, fiery backdrop ignited by the Santa Ana winds, which, according to Joan Didion in Slouching Towards Bethlehem, “[show] us how close to the edge we are.” Prescient. Watch White Oleander on Hulu.