In 1988, a seventeen year old's mother disappeared, this is her story.
No, this isn't an episode of Law and Order even if Christopher Meloni is in the film. White Bird in a Blizzard is a book adaptation of the novel by Laura Kasischke about a teen whose cantankerous and belligerent mother goes missing and the catharsis from her disappearance.
Shailene Woodley plays the tenacious and bright Kat Connor whose once loving mother, played by the on-her-way-to-type-casting Eva Green, turned menacingly jealous and neurotic once Kat approached puberty. Kat's father is the meek and spineless doting fool with no substance, a significant change for actor Christopher Meloni. Their averagely dysfunctional family is the center of a police inquiry once the mother abruptly goes missing. White Bird in a Blizzard highlights how Kat copes and grapples with the emotional effect her mother had on her in the toxic past and the omitted present.
A decidedly sexual narrative, White Bird in a Blizzard is not the mystery-thriller you may expect based on the film's summary. Gregg Araki's take on Kasischke's content has a unique perspective that provides it with a very new feel. The film itself is mildly reminiscent of The Lovely Bones due to his heavy usage of symbolic dream sequences and the wise-beyond-her-years protagonist who is a teenage girl.
White Bird in a Blizzard has a stellar soundtrack and music choices that really transports the viewer to the late 1980's. The acting in the film is stellar and far more nuanced than expected. Eva Green is especially more subtle than usual roles though Green's performance is still on the strong side and her natural accent is distracting and stops the viewer from completely immersing in the scenes.
Kat's observances of the world around her are penetratingly cognizant but still appropriate for a prematurely disillusioned teenager, compliments most likely owed to Laura Kasischke. In particular, the scenes where Kat grapples with the disappearance in therapy sessions, her 'home' friends and her sexual partner were engaging. One particular opinion regarding Kat's boyfriend that I particularly liked and I believe is a nice snippet from the film without being a spoiler: "He is so simple that when you scratch the surface, there is just more surface."
I wish Araki had chosen to utilize the voice overs less as I find Woodley's acting ability to not translate in voice overs and greatly decrease in effectiveness. Further, dream sequences in novels are almost always a let down in films and I wish Araki had chosen a different way to portray that content without a literally translated dream scene.
No, this isn't an episode of Law and Order even if Christopher Meloni is in the film. White Bird in a Blizzard is a book adaptation of the novel by Laura Kasischke about a teen whose cantankerous and belligerent mother goes missing and the catharsis from her disappearance.
Shailene Woodley plays the tenacious and bright Kat Connor whose once loving mother, played by the on-her-way-to-type-casting Eva Green, turned menacingly jealous and neurotic once Kat approached puberty. Kat's father is the meek and spineless doting fool with no substance, a significant change for actor Christopher Meloni. Their averagely dysfunctional family is the center of a police inquiry once the mother abruptly goes missing. White Bird in a Blizzard highlights how Kat copes and grapples with the emotional effect her mother had on her in the toxic past and the omitted present.
A decidedly sexual narrative, White Bird in a Blizzard is not the mystery-thriller you may expect based on the film's summary. Gregg Araki's take on Kasischke's content has a unique perspective that provides it with a very new feel. The film itself is mildly reminiscent of The Lovely Bones due to his heavy usage of symbolic dream sequences and the wise-beyond-her-years protagonist who is a teenage girl.
White Bird in a Blizzard has a stellar soundtrack and music choices that really transports the viewer to the late 1980's. The acting in the film is stellar and far more nuanced than expected. Eva Green is especially more subtle than usual roles though Green's performance is still on the strong side and her natural accent is distracting and stops the viewer from completely immersing in the scenes.
Kat's observances of the world around her are penetratingly cognizant but still appropriate for a prematurely disillusioned teenager, compliments most likely owed to Laura Kasischke. In particular, the scenes where Kat grapples with the disappearance in therapy sessions, her 'home' friends and her sexual partner were engaging. One particular opinion regarding Kat's boyfriend that I particularly liked and I believe is a nice snippet from the film without being a spoiler: "He is so simple that when you scratch the surface, there is just more surface."
I wish Araki had chosen to utilize the voice overs less as I find Woodley's acting ability to not translate in voice overs and greatly decrease in effectiveness. Further, dream sequences in novels are almost always a let down in films and I wish Araki had chosen a different way to portray that content without a literally translated dream scene.