White Oleander (2002)

WHITE OLEANDER, the Janet Fitch novel made famous on Oprah's Book Club, 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 unrecogni...
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zable.) 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 Mommy Dearest in prison, while suffering flashbacks of the alleged murder.

WHITE OLEANDER, the first feature for U.K. television director Peter Kosminsky, is stark and brooding. Its simultaneously awful and lovely tone is reminiscent of AMERICAN BEAUTY or THE ICE STORM.
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The Oprah Book Club best-seller by Janet Fitch makes it to the big screen in this adaptation from British director Peter Kosminsky. White Oleander recounts the traumatic adolescence of Astrid Magnusson (Alison Lohman), who finds herself an orphan after her short-fused, enigmatic artist mother Ingrid (Michelle Pfeiffer) is carted off to prison on murder charges. Astrid first finds herself in the care of Starr (Robin Wright Penn), a garish, born-again mother of two with a gruff but sensitive boyfriend (Cole Hauser). From there, she's shunted back to a state-run facility, where she tangles with other troubled teens ...
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and finds temporary solace in the arms of Paul (Patrick Fugit), a dough-faced comic book artist with dreams of moving to New York City. Astrid then lucks into a living arrangement with a successful but insecure actress (Renee Zellweger) who offers her unconditional love. But Ingrid's stifling influence continues to haunt her daughter, whether through the occasional prison visit or via manipulative letters to Astrid's caretakers. White Oleander received a Gala North American premiere at the 2002 Toronto Film Festival before reaching multiplexes later that fall.
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Astrid Magnussen is een 12-jarig meisje uit Californië. Haar moeder, Ingrid, is een vrijzinnige dichter. Wanneer Barry Kolker in het leven van Ingrid komt, wordt ze verliefd op hem. Maar als hij haar hart breekt, vermoordt ze hem en verdwijnt ze voor de rest van haar leven achter de tralies. Astrid komt van het ene in het andere weesgezin terecht.

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