The Dead Girl (B+ or 3/4 stars)
Cue the news story: A young dead female has been found in her apartment, on the road, in a dumpster, etc. We hear the reporter, we shake our head, grimace, and flip the channel or leave the room entirely. 'The Dead Girl', written & directed by Karen Moncrieff, delves deeper to the outer bands of the lives that are affected by a seemingly inconsequential murder. The clues to a young prostitute's death piece together as the lives of several unrelated women begin to cross paths. The film is made up of five 15 minute segments in which we enter the lives of the women who are somehow involved with 'the dead girl'. The subject matter in this movie is rather grim; but the way the story is told & the brilliant ensemble acting is original & stirring.
The 1st segment is titled 'The Stranger'. Arden (Toni Collette) discovers the mutilated body of the dead girl lying in a field. She calls the cops, & her emotionally abusive mother (Piper Laurie) is furious that attention has been brought upon them. But it is this attention that enables her to escape her lonely existence with a new acquaintance, Rudy (the always mysterious Giovanni Ribisi). He's 'into' sado-masochism & finds serial killers interesting, but she'd rather be with him than with her miserable mother. Because of her gruesome discovery in the field, can Arden find an optimistic opening to a new life? As Arden, Toni Collette's suffering & subtle strength is so sensitive and so real that it actually made my skin crawl.
In 'The Sister', the corpse of 'the dead girl' arrives at the morgue where Leah (Rose Byrne), a forensics grad student, suspects that the victim may be her long-lost sister who had disappeared some 15 years ago. If that's the case, Leah can get out of bed, stop relying on anti-depressants, & move on with her life (something her mom, played by Mary Steenburgen, can't seem to do); there would be some closure. Is the dead girl her sister? If so, a burden is lifted. If it's not, can she still hold onto hope that her sister is alive? Would she be able to move on with her life and a new relationship with Derek (James Franco)? Rose Byrne & Mary Steenburgen offer the best one-on-one dialogue of the film in a razor sharp scene at a restaurant.
In 'The Wife', a neglected housewife, Ruth (Mary Beth Hurt), discovers the reason why her husband (Nick Searcy) goes on secret absences. She finds some questionable articles of clothing in a storage container and thinks he may know something about the recent disappearance of 8 females. Trapped in a love/hate marriage, questioning her husband's hand in this matter, Ruth has to decide what to do. Does he have anything to do with a murder(s)? Is there a connection with the clothes she finds? Will there be a confrontation? Mary Beth Hurt's character is actually scary when she explodes at her husband in a fed-up outburst.
In 'The Mother', Melora (Marcia Gay Harden), a grieving mom, searches for answers about her dead daughter's life. Certain events lead her to a motel where she finds some answers about her daughter, Krista, from Rosetta (Kerry Washington), a prostitute who knew her rather well. Rosetta divulges some unbelievable revelations about Krista's twisted life(style), and the news will instantly change the course of her life forever. Why did Krista runaway? How come her life spiraled in such disastrous fashion? What awe inspiring piece of information does Rosetta offer? Marcia Gay Harden shows here why she's already won an Oscar.
In the 5th segment, 'The Dead Girl', we meet a spit-fire of a woman (Brittany Murphy) who's trying to get her drug-influenced life together and provide for her daughter, Ashley (Elle Fanning). To say this woman is hyper and edgy is an understatement. It would be in her best interest to ditch the drugs and ditch her lowly friends; find a less destructive way of life. Beneath the veneer of drugs, rage, & profanity, is an innocent child-like girl whose best intentions, try as she may, are far from surfacing. This final vignette completes a multi-layered mystery in a truly fitting conclusion. Brittany Murphy is as frenetically engaging as ever.
Each woman tries to overcome a crisis that is either directly or completely indirectly affected by 'the dead girl'. Each vignette could have been a full-length movie. But the fact that they're only 15 minutes long & still create the same multidimensional effect is simply astonishing. It's great to see a 'perspective' from every angle of an impulsive, murderous happenstance. The movie may lack ample highs & lows. Some may find it a tad dark & abrupt. But I find the abruptness (particularly in the conclusion) to be the 'only' conclusion. We're forced to create our own unique endings. Chances are (amid all the grimness) that most will be surprisingly optimistic. I find that the best movies are the ones that leave you thinking about them long after they're over. This one will hang with me for a while.
The 1st segment is titled 'The Stranger'. Arden (Toni Collette) discovers the mutilated body of the dead girl lying in a field. She calls the cops, & her emotionally abusive mother (Piper Laurie) is furious that attention has been brought upon them. But it is this attention that enables her to escape her lonely existence with a new acquaintance, Rudy (the always mysterious Giovanni Ribisi). He's 'into' sado-masochism & finds serial killers interesting, but she'd rather be with him than with her miserable mother. Because of her gruesome discovery in the field, can Arden find an optimistic opening to a new life? As Arden, Toni Collette's suffering & subtle strength is so sensitive and so real that it actually made my skin crawl.
In 'The Sister', the corpse of 'the dead girl' arrives at the morgue where Leah (Rose Byrne), a forensics grad student, suspects that the victim may be her long-lost sister who had disappeared some 15 years ago. If that's the case, Leah can get out of bed, stop relying on anti-depressants, & move on with her life (something her mom, played by Mary Steenburgen, can't seem to do); there would be some closure. Is the dead girl her sister? If so, a burden is lifted. If it's not, can she still hold onto hope that her sister is alive? Would she be able to move on with her life and a new relationship with Derek (James Franco)? Rose Byrne & Mary Steenburgen offer the best one-on-one dialogue of the film in a razor sharp scene at a restaurant.
In 'The Wife', a neglected housewife, Ruth (Mary Beth Hurt), discovers the reason why her husband (Nick Searcy) goes on secret absences. She finds some questionable articles of clothing in a storage container and thinks he may know something about the recent disappearance of 8 females. Trapped in a love/hate marriage, questioning her husband's hand in this matter, Ruth has to decide what to do. Does he have anything to do with a murder(s)? Is there a connection with the clothes she finds? Will there be a confrontation? Mary Beth Hurt's character is actually scary when she explodes at her husband in a fed-up outburst.
In 'The Mother', Melora (Marcia Gay Harden), a grieving mom, searches for answers about her dead daughter's life. Certain events lead her to a motel where she finds some answers about her daughter, Krista, from Rosetta (Kerry Washington), a prostitute who knew her rather well. Rosetta divulges some unbelievable revelations about Krista's twisted life(style), and the news will instantly change the course of her life forever. Why did Krista runaway? How come her life spiraled in such disastrous fashion? What awe inspiring piece of information does Rosetta offer? Marcia Gay Harden shows here why she's already won an Oscar.
In the 5th segment, 'The Dead Girl', we meet a spit-fire of a woman (Brittany Murphy) who's trying to get her drug-influenced life together and provide for her daughter, Ashley (Elle Fanning). To say this woman is hyper and edgy is an understatement. It would be in her best interest to ditch the drugs and ditch her lowly friends; find a less destructive way of life. Beneath the veneer of drugs, rage, & profanity, is an innocent child-like girl whose best intentions, try as she may, are far from surfacing. This final vignette completes a multi-layered mystery in a truly fitting conclusion. Brittany Murphy is as frenetically engaging as ever.
Each woman tries to overcome a crisis that is either directly or completely indirectly affected by 'the dead girl'. Each vignette could have been a full-length movie. But the fact that they're only 15 minutes long & still create the same multidimensional effect is simply astonishing. It's great to see a 'perspective' from every angle of an impulsive, murderous happenstance. The movie may lack ample highs & lows. Some may find it a tad dark & abrupt. But I find the abruptness (particularly in the conclusion) to be the 'only' conclusion. We're forced to create our own unique endings. Chances are (amid all the grimness) that most will be surprisingly optimistic. I find that the best movies are the ones that leave you thinking about them long after they're over. This one will hang with me for a while.