The accumulation of sharp candid flashes adds up to a disturbing vision of Los Angeles as a teeming jungle of dysfunction.Read Full Review »
75
Philadelphia Inquirer: Carrie Rickey
Stronger on character than on story, the film version of Janet Fitch's best-seller is shaped and propelled by the astonishing performance of Alison Lohman.Read Full Review »
70
Washington Post: Stephen Hunter
A lot of White Oleander is heavy sledding of the waa-waa, touchy-feely kind. But just as much of it has the sting of something so real it hurts.Read Full Review »
67
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Lisa Schwarzbaum
Impressively unflappable and natural, 23-year-old Lohman -- whose best known credit is perhaps a role on Fox's short-lived ''Pasadena'' -- holds the whole plot together skillfully.Read Full Review »
63
ReelViews: James Berardinelli
It's not edgy or groundbreaking, but it tells the story it sets out to tell. For what it is, Kosminsky's picture is polished and effective. If only the movie had taken more risks or possessed a keener edge...Read Full Review »
63
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: Roger Ebert
The story is determined to be colorful and melodramatic, like a soap opera where the characters suffer in ways that look intriguing.Read Full Review »
60
LOS ANGELES TIMES: Kenneth Turan
This is a film without a center, a film whose young protagonist should have more texture, more of a compelling voice than she does. Through no real fault of the acting, young Astrid does not compel our attention the way she must if White Oleander is to succeed completely on the screen.Read Full Review »
Ultimately sacrifices nuance to tidy epiphanies about personal growth.Read Full Review »
60
Salon.com: Stephanie Zacharek
Maybe it's only half of what it could be, but at least it's a healthy half. And in this era of mainstream cookie-cutter moviemaking, that's a feat in itself.Read Full Review »
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