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The bond between a mother and daughter is similar to a flower; an intricate and complex thing that is controversial in its development and perplexing in its stages of maturity. The title of the movie White Oleander is symbolic to many aspects of the film, but at its foundation is a young girl’s hauntingly distressing account of her relationship with her mother that takes us from induction to anthesis.
White Oleander was released in 2002 with a Motion Picture rating of PG-13 and a running time of 109 minutes. I rented the dramatic movie in 2003, fell immediately in love with it, and bought the DVD. Based on the 1999 # 1 New York Times best selling debut novel by Janet Fitch (Paint it Black), White Oleander was adapted into a screenplay by Mary Agnes Donoghue who is also known for her work on Beaches. Warner Brothers captured the script and teamed up with director Peter Kominsky (Warriors, No Child of Mine) and producer John Wells (ER,Third Watch) to put together an extraordinary cast for this memorable story. Michelle Pfeiffer (The Fabulous BakerBoys, Dangerous Liaisons) plays Ingrid Magnussen, a single mother who is put in prison for killing her boyfriend and lobbing her daughter Astrid into the gyrating Los Angeles foster care system. Astrid, whom the story is narrated by and centers around, is played by the young and versatile Alison Lohman (Big Fish, Flicka). Rounding off the cast of unstable foster parents are Robin Wright Penn (Forrest Gump, Nine Lives) and Renee Zellweger (Chicago, Bridget Jones’s Diary).
Astrid Magnussen (Alison Lohman) is an only child living in Los Angeles with her single, beautiful, artistic mother Ingrid (Michelle Pfeiffer). Ingrid is the center of Astrid’s world with her fascinatingly independent ways and her ability to charm everyone. Although the movie does not really clarify it, Astrid also longs for a father. When Ingrid meets a man named Barry Kolker (Billy Connolly), Astrid has hopes of living a more domestic life. Her daydreams soon end when Barry is unfaithful to Ingrid and her mother becomes consumed with hate. Ingrid creates a bizarre mixture of sap from oleander and DMSO (Dimethyl Sulfoxide) to poison her ex-lover. Astrid’s life is suddenly altered significantly when her mother is arrested and sent to prison. Alison Lohman is an effortless chameleon as we watch her go from a wide eyed twelve year old Astrid to a woman of twenty. Astrid is sent to MAC (Freddie Mac Foundation) along with several foster homes and even though we cringe as we watch the trials she goes through, it’s difficult not to feel a bit glorious seeing her skin grow thicker as she becomes an individual and comes closer to the realization that her mother is not the idol she had worshipped for so long.
I am a big fan of symbolism and I loved how it was used in White Oleander. I don’t think many people living in Los Angeles give a second thought to the poisonous plant that flourishes throughout the year here. It’s a very resilient plant that represents everything Ingrid is. There is a scene in the movie when Astrid visits her mother for the first time in prison. Astrid is living with her foster mother Starr (Robin Wright Penn) who is a born again Christian and convinces Astrid to be baptized. Ingrid, a woman strongly opposed to religion sees the cross that Astrid is wearing and immediately disapproves. She tells Astrid that “evil is tricky. Just when you think you know what it is, it changes its form.” Although oleander does not change its form, it is beautiful and can lure you into believing that on the inside it is not toxic. The oleander is also white which is another symbol of evil in the appearance of something good. White is thought to be a sacred and pure color, but in the case of the oleander and Ingrid, it is cold and sterile.
As with most novels that are adapted into movies, the book White Oleander is superior to the film. But when I read the book and then saw the movie, I found that the characters I had dreamed up in my mind were quite similar to the cast. The movie is aimed mostly at women and teenage girls, but I believe it has something for everyone. I have read reviews that deem White Oleander to be a depressing film, but I think the movie is simply not sugar-coated. White Oleander shows how awful the foster care system in Los Angeles County is, but it also shows that there are always diamonds in the rough.
The film White Oleander won three awards and received three nominations. The book White Oleander spent eighteen weeks on the New York Times best selling list. I highly recommend this film and the book and give it four out of four stars. You can rent the movie at your local Blockbuster and find the book at Barnes and Noble or simply check it out at the local library.
White Oleander can be purchased at any of the three following websites:
www.amazon.com
www.WBshop.com
www.ANTOnline.com
The above is a random extract from Associated Content, visit Associated Content for the actual writer of this article.
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