Such a frustrating disappointment

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The long, arduous journey of a teenage girl in Los Angeles, left without a legal guardian after her single mom is convicted of killing her boyfriend and is sent to prison for 35 years. Intense, powerful adaptation of Janet Fitch's 1999 bestseller, with a superb central performance by Alison Lohman as Astrid, daughter of the convicted artist, her mother, who claims to have raised her child as a strong, willful, independent girl--or is that just how the mother sees herself? Lohman's fragile character amusingly assimilates her own personality to each new foster family she goes to stay with--three in three years--hardening her heart along the way, but expanding her awareness of the secret early turbulence she endured at the hands of her mother, the poisonous white oleander. Mary Agnes Donoghue's screenplay, while patchy in spots (particularly in regards to mother Michelle Pfeiffer's legal affairs), carries us right along on Astrid's rocky path to becoming an adult, while director Peter Kosminsky handles all the changes in her young life with incredible sensitivity and deeply-felt emotion. Performances from the large cast, particularly by the women, are excellent. ***1/2 from ****

one of films who continue in the memory of the viewer long time after its end. like the novel who inspired it. because it seems be perfect. the performances, the atmosphere, each detail, dialogues and the impression to see the making of large spider web. a film who gives only questions. powerful for the force to impose each of theme. not comfortable because the themes are very delicate and the desire of director is to explore each in precise, profound manner. the great thing is the way in which the story becomes yours. the extraordinary job of Renee Zellweger. the metamorphose of Astrid who has in Allison Lohmann a great interpreter. a dark, uncomfortable, cruel and high honest film. maybe useful. like a huge mirror.

Astrid Magnussen (Alison Lohman) is a sweet sensitive Californian girl with her dominating artistic unconventional mother Ingrid (Michelle Pfeiffer). It's a reasonable life until her mother is arrested for her boyfriend Barry Kolker (Billy Connolly)'s murder. Astrid is taken by Children's Services and shuttled from one disaster after another. Her mother is convicted for life in prison. Her first foster mother is the religious Starr (Robin Wright) who was a former stripper. She gets involved with Starr's boyfriend and Starr ends up shooting her. Then she goes to the group home where she is picked on. There she finds a soulmate in Paul Trout (Patrick Fugit). Then she goes with the fragile Clare (Renée Zellweger), and finally with the money scheming Rena (Svetlana Efremova).Alison Lohman has her big breakthrough performance as the sensitive Astrid. She does a fragile person quite well. And she can show her character grow just as well. However her reserved nature limits the tension. She really needs to break down and cry in the group home. Michelle Pfeiffer is given a complex character to play in this one. She does an admirable job. Although I wonder if Robin Wright would do a better job. Pfeiffer has a streak of nice sweetness in her that she can't quite shake. The movie needs her to have a meaner spirit. Overall it is a big vast personal melodrama. The acting is done well. The story is compelling.

I am not a fan of such movies, to be honest with you. I like good dramas and if they introduce good actors - the better. The White Oleander is a good work, decent, honest, deep and still flawed a bit. I have never read the book and the movie was a first time experience for me, and quite a nice revelation. I enjoyed the parts played by all great actors here, as Michelle Pfeiffer, Renee Zellwegger, Anna Lohman, Tom Fugit and many did a decent and very good job, which is obvious. Maybe, the movie drags at times and becomes a bit too slow in some moments, and then there is an overflow of sentimental nonsense sometimes, too, but then, this is the law of the genre And oh, one more moment - if my wife, who read the book, had not told me about the poison of the flower which gave the name to the movie, I'd never guess why on earth the film was titled so and why this milk was shown there several times.