By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Karen Moncrieff
Starring: Brittany Murphy. Piper Laurie | Bruce Davison | James Franco | Kerry Washington | Marcia Gay Harden | Mary Beth Hurt | Mary Steenburgen | Rose Byrne | Toni Collette
Country: united_states
Year: 2007
Running time: 85
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0783238/
Michael says: “With an outstanding cast and a handful of Independent Spirit Award nominations (including Best Director, Best Feature, and Best Supporting Actress), I would have thought that Karen MoNcrieff’s somber, powerful film, THE DEAD GIRL, would have had better distribution. Unfortunately, this was not the case, and I had to catch this gem on DVD. Moncrieff, who wrote and directed, has created a lovely story in chapters, about a dead girl whose life is revealed by the community of people connected to her in a variety of ways. Each chapter focuses on a different member or members of that community, and reveal different aspects of her life, or how she touched others.
“In the opening chapter, Toni Collette plays Arden, a socially awkward, emotionally closed woman who cares for and is terrorized by her invalid mother (Piper Laurie). One day while wandering the field behind her house, she discovers the brutalized body of a dead girl. This discovery and the mini-celebrity/notoriety that attaches itself to her afterwards leads to a life change for Arden. Rose Byrne plays Leah, the young woman who works in the medical facility that receives the dead girl’s body. Leah and her family are struggling with the disappearance of her older sister 11 years ago, and the discovery of the body prompts a major change in Leah’s life. Mary Beth Hurt was nominated for an Indie Spirit Award for her portrayal of the woman married to a man who spends periodic stretches away from home involved in suspicious activities. The final two chapters focus on the dead girl’s mother (Marcia Gay Harden), closest friend (Kerry Washington), and the dead girl herself (Brittany Murphy).
“Moncrieff spins her tale through the power of her writing and her actors. The complex relationships between characters are conveyed with little dialogue, and Moncrieff has an assured hand with the camera and lighting. The cast is uniformly strong, including Collette, Laurie, Byrne, James Franco, Mary Steenburgen, Bruce Davison, Hurt, Harden, Washington, and Murphy. In addition to Hurt, Collette and Harden, Kerry Washington truly shines in what at first seems a stock character (and one you don’t usually get to see Washington play) but Moncrieff’s script and her powerful performance create a surprisingly complex and moving character.
“Moncrieff’s first film, THE BLUE CAR was not entirely successful, but displayed the promise of an assured director. It’s exciting to see that just one film later, Moncrieff has progressed immeasurably, and I can give THE DEAD GIRL 4 1/2 cats”