So, lucky readers, this evening you are getting treated to TWO new film reviews. After just posting the write-up for this past weekend’s big hit, “Gone Girl“, I happened upon an independent film out, thanks to On Demand, ahead of its official theatrical release. Never one to turn away from the given opportunity, I present to you my review of….”White Bird In A Blizzard”.
SEE THE TRAILER HERE
Directed by Gregg Araki, and based on the novel of the same name by Laura Kasischke, the film takes us into the life of Katrina “Kat” Connor (Shailene Woodley), who starts us out by stating that when she was 17, her mother disappeared. And to boot, Kat has recurring dreams of her Mom in a frozen wasteland of ice and snow, which she cannot decipher. It is the Fall/Winter of 1988, and we are privy to the story via a mixture of flashbacks and the present, as we find that Kat’s life now has been mostly about her raging hormones and now dull home life with her father Brock (Christopher Meloni) who seems initially in a state of either shock or…indifference(?) to his wife’s sudden disappearance. So to deal with the whole situation, her father sends Kat to a psychologist, Dr. Thaler (Angela Bassett), obviously in hopes that “talking it all out” will help Kat deal with things. Which, of course, it doesn’t, as a rebellious and shattered Kat is basically trying to constantly find OTHER outlets to her inner hurt, mostly through talking to her friends Beth (Gabourey Sidibe) and Mickey (Mark Indelicato), and her boyfriend Phil (Shiloh Fernandez), who of late has not been willing to indulge Kat’s baser desires, even despite doing so in the past. So Kat ultimately ends up turning to the cop, Detective Scieziesciez (Thomas Jane), who is actually investigating her mother’s disappearance, as an outlet for her…frustrations. And in the midst of this damaged behavior, we come to understand via the aforementioned flashbacks, that her missing mother Eve (Eva Green) was at first a reflection of total beauty, ethereal, and well above her father’s station in life, beyond what even Kat herself came to believe he was able to win. And as the marriage to Brock went on, however, we see Eve’s slow descent into dullness, becoming cold, unthankful, and blatantly hostile in attitude and treatment of Brock. And we ALSO see the initial indications of the resentment Eve even ended up feeling toward Kat’s beauty as she turned from a child, whom she seemed to love unquestionably, into a young woman. Even the early times of Kat’s relationship with Phil becomes an obsession and a point of contention between Kat and her Mom (even to a borderline physical assault) who seems to be wanting an old life back that she now regrets ever leaving. As more and more events unspool in Eve’s disappearance, both doubt and suspicion begin to fall on Brock, and all the things that Kat doesn’t WANT to believe, start weighing on her as she herself starts feeling like she’s losing control of everything. Fast forward to two years later, as Kat is attending Berkeley, and on a weekend home, everything comes to a head. Secrets are revealed, lies are uncovered, and the whole scenario comes to a punch in the face conclusion. To reveal the specific details would be the wonderful world of spoilers….and, well, you know….
Well….THIS was one DARK and depressing film. I have to admit I came out of watching it feeling about the same way I did from “Inside Llewyn Davis” and “The Wait“….emotionally drained and just…”ugh”. And honestly, I then have to point out that it is disappointing to have to find the film being like this, as I don’t MIND dark and edgy, but only when it is executed a certain way. Sadly, this WASN’T the way I was hoping for. It just had TOO MUCH dank and depressing themes to it, and even though I know this, apparently, must have been how the source material was (aka: the novel), I wish somehow this film had done away with the book and simply given us the rawness of the emotions and situation in a more satisfying way. I LOVE Shailene Woodley. She STILL ranks for me as one of THE preeminent young talents out there currently, and one of my favorite all-around actresses in Hollywood. So far, the films I’d seen her in have been truly amazing. While her PERFORMANCE in this film as a whole was as needed for Kat’s character….damaged, hurt, and angry at the world….I didn’t need to SEE that much of Kat in that state, again DESPITE the story, much less unexpectedly SEEING more of her than I expected as well….the film is very graphic in not only its dialogue, but in specific moments visually as well. And again, that kind of sexuality, REGARDLESS of the story, I am just put off by, similar to that content in the overall better film, “Gone Girl”. And just the bombast of language and then the realization we get of the event that actually set in motion EVERYTHING….it was as stated, a real punch in the face! While that lent a certain impact TO the film, for me, it actually made the WHOLE thing even darker and less gratifying to watch. Again, the actors turned in some solid performances, and this of course will NOT turn me off to Shailene’s future efforts, but I still found this one not worth the time or money OVERALL that I invested in it, and cannot totally say I would recommend it either. Sorry, Shailene, I know you are one of THE reigning queens at both indie films AND big budget fare, but you have done SO much better than this already….
As always, this is all for YOUR consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
