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White Oleander (Score)

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White Oleander (Score)

White Oleander

Off-White Oleander
by Michael Flanagan

 Solid

Now, I read this one.  Don’t ask why, but I met a friend on a train reading it who probably thought I was gay because of it and started a conversation as a result and once she found out I was quite straight she pushed away a little but we remained friends.  I don’t talk to her much now, and regardless of an agreement to watch it together, I finally caved and rented it with a coupon for a local chain video store.

All in all, for an Oprah Book Club book-turned-movie about women in poor and unhappy circumstances, it ain’t half bad.  With a strong performance by star Alison Lohman and some great facial expression by Michelle Pfiefer, along with a list of great actresses, including Robin Wright Penn and Renee Zelwegger, and a great performance by Almost Famous’ Patrick Fugit, the movie delivers on drama and powerful narrative.

It is also one of the few movies I have ever seen that tries to stay so faithful to the book.  However, it also tries to stay around two hours.  The result is a truncated version of the book that speeds through the major dramatic elements and skips the minor, but all-important character developing ones.  This movie needed more character, and it had it in the source material.  In this case, though, in an attempt to faithfully get from beginning to end, we miss the middle.

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