White Oleander (2002)Movies

Movies from Film Forum, 10/24/02The dark side of foster care is the subject of White Oleander. The film, directed by Peter Kosminsky, is based on a bestselling novel and stars an A-list cast of actresses. The main character is a young girl named Astrid (Alison Lohman) who must survive nightmarish conditions in foster care after her mother (Michelle Pfeiffer) is imprisoned for killing her boyfriend. What's so bad about foster care? It turns out her foster mother is—insert drum roll here—a born again Christian With the film's central Christian portrayed as a freakish monster, it should be no surprise that Christian press critics are displeased with the film.Critics at Preview and Movieguide critic criticize the film for "references to suicide, murder, violence, adultery, under-age...