Product Description

White Oleander chronicles the life of Astrid (Alison Lohman), a young teenager who journeys through a series of foster homes after her mother (Michelle Pfeiffer) goes to prison for committing a crime of passion. Set adrift in the world, Astrid struggles to become her own person while coming to terms with the challenges of living life on her own.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17605 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2003-03-11
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Letterboxed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Dubbed in: French
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 110 minutes

Amazon.com
Fine performances and sensitive direction keep White Oleander from being a routine tearjerker. Adapted from Janet Fitch's bestseller (an Oprah's Book Club selection), this hard-edged drama boasts a reputable cast, but 23-year-old newcomer Alison Lohman steals the film from her A-list costars. As a troubled teen whose controlling mother (Michelle Pfeiffer) has been jailed for murder, Lohman is the film's heart and soul, bouncing between foster homes and rushing toward independence in a world of disappointing adults. After surviving episodic stints with a trashy born-again Christian (Robin Wright Penn), a suicidal housewife (Renée Zellweger), and a Russian immigrant (Zvetlana Efremova), she finds comfort with another outcast (Patrick Fugit), leaving behind the mothers who failed her. Making his feature directorial debut, British stage and TV veteran Peter Kosminsky creates a showcase for formidable actresses, each given moments to shine. White Oleander lacks the emotional depth of Fitch's novel, but it speaks volumes about the delicate balance of freedom and responsibility. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker
Does anyone know what happened to the Michelle Pfeiffer who made "The Fabulous Baker Boys" and "Married to the Mob"? She seems to have disappeared, taking with her a sly sense of fun, leaving the new-model Pfeiffer to concentrate on earnest empowerment studies like "Dangerous Minds," and now this. Peter Kosminsky's film, adapted from the novel by Janet Fitch, stars Pfeiffer as a Los Angeles artist who kills a man and goes to prison, a place she enjoys for its clarity of purpose, and from where she urges her teen-age daughter Astrid (Alison Lohman) to be herself at all costs. In practice, this involves making life hell for any foster parent who has the guts, or the kindness, to take Astrid on. The film is luminous to look at and hard to listen to, as great chunks of whole-meal fiction are read out in voice-over. There are contributions from Robin Wright Penn and Renée Zellweger, but the movie belongs to Lohman, who must be praying that it will lead to roles in which she will be allowed to smile. -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker