Some of the people that read and loved the book White Oleander may not be happy with this adaptation of the novel, but I can't say that for sure one way or the other as I have not read the book. I did see the movie, and I think it was a very good, enjoyable dramatic film. The only reason I made the comment about the book is because fans of a novel are rarely happy with the film version.
White Oleander is a film being told by a young woman, who we find out is Astrid Magnussen (Alison Lohman). She tells us the story of her life with her loving artist mother Ingrid Magnussen (Michele Pfeifer) who was also full so chaos, rage, and jealousy. Eventually Ingrid ends up in prison leaving the young barely teenaged Astrid a ward of the state. And thus the journey begins, from one foster home to another and back to the foster place where all the foster kids are. We follow he around as she meets different mother figures who are all quite interesting, from Robin Wright Penn as a fornicating bible thumping biker humping Christian to a Malibu based B movie star (Rene Zelleweger) and on and on. The things that happen to this girl are pretty shocking and interesting and despite this not being a thriller, you are never bored. White Oleander is an interesting and entertaining film that will capture your attention.
The big named actresses in this film are all good but the real big deal here is Alison Lohman, who is the star that shines in this film. She makes Astrid Magnussen someone we want to hear more about and find out what happens to her. Her performance is intense and brilliant, lighting up the screen whenever she is on it. I would love to see an Oscar nomination for this performance but I doubt we will be so lucky. Lohman clearly deserves it.
White Oleander is high drama and very entertaining as such. There are moviegoers that do not enjoy dramas no matter what and they should steer clear of this film. The rest of the world should take a trip to the theater to see this engaging story and well directed film.
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