Melinda and Melinda

Written and directed by Woody Allen, Melinda & Melinda is the story about two women with the same name who live very different lives as four people discuss about the ideas of life in the form of a tragedy and a comedy. The film is an exploration into the world of how life works in a natural setting whether it’s in the form of tragedy or in a comedy as its titular characters are played by Radha Mitchell. Also starring Jonny Lee Miller, Chloe Sevigny, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Steve Carell, Will Ferrell, Amanda Peet, Larry Pine, Vinessa Shaw, Josh Brolin, Brooke Smith, and Wallace Shawn. Melinda & Melinda is a superb and engaging comedy-drama from Woody Allen.

The film is about the life of two women with the same name as they’re the subject of how life is as two men (Wallace Shawn and Larry Pine) have a discussion with two other people (Neil Pepe and Stephanie Roth Haberle) about how does life work. In the one spectrum, there’s the tragic Melinda who is a woman with a very troubled life as she unexpectedly stays over at a friend’s house where she falls for a musician only for things to get complicated. In other spectrum, there’s the comic Melinda as a woman who unknowingly crashes a dinner party as she catches the eye of an actor whose wife is an independent filmmaker who tries to set Melinda up with other men. It’s all plays to the scheme of things in the way life works out as it raises the question about how life can be defined by tragic or comic circumstances.

Woody Allen’s screenplay does have an interesting concept about the ideas of comedy and tragedy and how they can drive one person’s life. Though there’s parts in the story that does drag things a bit, it does play into the way the two Melindas would go in their life. On the tragic spectrum, there’s Melinda trying to find some idea of happiness in her life as she falls for this musician named Ellis (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who is quite charming as well as sympathetic to Melinda’s own personal issues. Yet, Ellis also wins the attraction of Melinda’s friend Laurel (Chloe Sevigny) who is married to a struggling actor named Lee (Jonny Lee Miller) as she doesn’t want to do something that would send Melinda into a bigger downward spiral. In the comic portion of the film, Melinda is a woman trying to find new love as she seeks the help of her neighbors in Hobie and Susan (Will Ferrell and Amanda Peet) where Hobie falls for Melinda but has no idea how to tell Melinda or Susan.

Allen’s direction is quite straightforward in terms of compositions yet he does manage to create a lot of situations where it would mirror the two different portions of the film. Notably in scenes of how Melinda arrives or her reaction to a certain situation that would play into the two different spectrums about life. Though there’s a few moments that does drag the story in the tragic portion of the film while the comedy aspects of it would lighten things up. It does make the film uneven in some ways though both stories do showcase some compelling arguments of the tragedy of comedy and tragedy where it would briefly cut to the two writers having dinner and discuss their side about how life works. Overall, Allen creates an engaging and enjoyable film about the way life works.

Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography from the low-key yet intimate look of the French bistro the Melindas go to as well as some of the locations in New York City that would play to their adventures. Editor Alisa Lepselter does brilliant work with the editing from the use of transitions that range from smooth to abrupt at times in order to help move the story along with some stylish cuts to play out some of the humor and drama that occurs. Production designer Santo Loquasto, with set decorator Regina Graves and art director Tom Warren, does nice work with the set pieces from the different apartments that the Melindas stay in to some of the places the women go to including the French bistro.

Costume designer Judy L. Ruskin does terrific work with the costumes as it is mostly casual while adding some differences to the different look of the two Melindas where the tragic is more disheveled while the comic is more refined. Sound editor Robert Hein does superb work with the sound to play up the atmosphere of some of the parties that occur including some of the other places the characters go to. The film’s soundtrack is amazing as it features a different array of jazz and classical pieces from Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Igor Stravinsky, Bela Bartok, Duke Ellington, Dick Hyman, Erroll Garner, and some R&B music from Barry White.

The casting by Juliet Taylor is fantastic for the ensemble that is created as it features appearances from Neil Pepe and Stephanie Roth Haberle as the friends in the discussion table along with notable small performances from Shalom Harlow as a dinner guest of Lee and Laurel, Brooke Smith as a friend of Laurel and Melinda in Cassie, Steve Carell as Hobie’s friend Walt, Vinessa Shaw as a woman Hobie meets, Daniel Sujata as a man the comic Melinda meets, Zak Orth as Cassie’s husband, and Josh Brolin as a friend of Susan whom she tries to set the comic Melinda with much to Hobie’s disgust. Larry Pine and Wallace Shawn are terrific as the two writers who drive the discussion of how life works with Pine favoring tragedy and Shawn in favor of comedy as the two have great rapport together.

Chiwetel Ejiofor is amazing as the musician Ellis whom the tragic Melinda falls for as he is very kind to her while he is also attracted to Laurel. Jonny Lee Miller is very good as Laurel’s struggling actor husband Lee who doesn’t really like Melinda as he secretly hides his own affairs from Laurel. Chloe Sevigny is excellent as Laurel as a woman who is trying to help the tragic Melinda while dealing with her attraction towards Ellis. Amanda Peet is wonderful as Susan as a woman who tries to help the comic Melinda find love while dealing with her own issues in trying to get funding for her film. Will Ferrell is brilliant as Hobie as a man who falls for the comic Melinda as he tries to deal with his feelings while Ferrell adds some subtle comedic approach to his character.

Finally there’s Radha Mitchell as Melinda and Melinda where Mitchell brings a complexity to the different personas of Melinda as she is ragged and loose as the tragic Melinda who is likely to fall apart. In the form of the comical Melinda, Mitchell is more relaxed but also pretty funny as she definitely brings to spark in her scenes with Ferrell as it’s definitely one of Mitchell’s finest performances.

Melinda & Melinda is a pretty stellar film from Woody Allen thanks to Radha Mitchell’s dual performances as the titular characters. Along with great supporting work from Will Ferrell, Chloe Sevigny, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, it’s a film that showcases Allen trying to do something new while using old ideas to play out the ideas of comedy and tragedy in the way life works. In the end, Melinda & Melinda is a pretty good film from Woody Allen.

Woody Allen Films: What's Up Tiger Lily? - Take the Money and Run - Bananas - Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) - Sleeper - Love and Death - Annie Hall - Interiors - Manhattan - Stardust Memories - A Midsummer's Night Sex Comedy - Zelig - Broadway Danny Rose - The Purple Rose of Cairo - Hannah & Her Sisters - Radio Days - September - Another Woman - New York Stories: Oedipus Wrecks - Crimes & Misdemeanors - Alice - Shadows and Fog - Husbands and Wives - Manhattan Murder Mystery - Bullets Over Broadway - Don't Drink the Water - Mighty Aphrodite - Everyone Says I Love You - Deconstructing Harry - Celebrity - Sweet and Lowdown - Small Time Crooks - The Curse of the Jade Scorpion - Hollywood Ending - Anything Else - Match Point - Scoop - Cassandra’s Dream - Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Whatever Works - You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger - Midnight in Paris - To Rome with Love - Blue Jasmine - Magic in the Moonlight - Irrational Man - (Cafe Society)

The Auteurs #24: Woody Allen Pt. 1 - Pt. 2 - Pt. 3 - Pt. 4

© thevoid99 2013

The Way, Way Back

Written, directed, and co-starring Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, The Way, Way Back is the story about a 14-year old kid who goes on a summer holiday where he hangs around and later works at a water park to deal with his summertime blues and his growing disdain towards his mother’s boyfriend. The film is an exploration into a young boy’s summer as he finds a place where he belongs while dealing with the chaos in his family life. Also starring Steve Carell, Sam Rockwell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, Annasophia Robb, Zoe Levin, Maya Rudolph, Rob Corddry, Amanda Peet, and Liam James. The Way, Way Back is a fantastic film from Nat Faxon and Jim Rash.

The film explores a summer in the life of an introverted 14-year old boy named Duncan (Liam James) who finds a home in a nearby water park run by a carefree manager named Owen (Sam Rockwell). Especially as the boy is dealing with growing pains as his mom’s boyfriend Trent (Steve Carell) is very critical and says mean things to him. While his mother Pam (Toni Collette) and Trent spend their time with other adults, Duncan spends more time at the water park where he also works while bonding with another jaded teen in Susanna (Annasophia Robb). The film is a coming-of-age tale where this boy deals with his situation that includes his father moving to California and that his mother’s boyfriend is an absolute dickhead. In Owen, Duncan finds the father-figure he needs as well as being true to himself.

The film’s screenplay explores the complicated life of this 14-year-old boy who is a very introverted individual that is considered odd by Trent and his teenager daughter Steph (Zoe Levin) as he is also aghast by the craziness his mother has with other adults as he feels like his mother isn’t aware of how he’s really feeling. Especially as she’s often with Trent and some friends of his where some of Trent’s activities and behavior give Duncan more reasons to dislike him as Trent often states that they should bond and be in tune together. Owen is an extremely different person that Duncan can identify with as he’s sort of a man-child who runs a water park and likes to have fun. Owen also helps Duncan come out of his shell by giving him a job and advice on life as well as how to win the heart of Susanna who hates having to deal with her boozy mother Betty (Allison Janney).

The direction of Nat Faxon and Jim Rash is quite straightforward as they don’t really aim for a sense of cinematic style by rather just focusing on the story and keeping things simple. The compositions are still engaging while they allow the comedy to be loose and natural along with some of the smaller moments where it plays to Duncan’s development. Faxon and Rash know where to put the actors in the background while having them be placed in moments that can advance the story. Even in the drama where it relates to Duncan’s testy relationship with Trent where Duncan discovers things that would have a dramatic impact in how it relates to Duncan’s desire to protect his mother. Still, Faxon and Rash bring a lot of fun into the film in many of the scenes at the water park as it’s shot in an actual water park in Massachusetts where it has a bit of realism in the story. Overall, Faxon and Rash create a very vital and lively film about a young boy’s summer of fun and coming into his own.

Cinematographer John Bailey does excellent work with the film‘s colorful cinematography from the look of the locations in Massachusetts and the water park to the scenes at night with its use of natural light. Editor Tatiana S. Riegel does wonderful work with the editing as it‘s quite straightforward while using some nice rhythmic cuts and montages to play out the sense of fun Duncan has at the water park. Production designer Mark Ricker, with set decorator Rena DeAngelo and art director Jeremy Woodward, does amazing work with the set pieces from the look of the home to some of the small props created for the water park.

Costume designers Michelle Maitland and Ann Roth do terrific work with the costumes as it‘s mostly casual with some style to play into some of the female characters in the film. Sound editor Perry Robertson does nice work with the sound to play up the energy of the parties and such along with the craziness at the water park. The film’s music by Rob Simonsen is fantastic for its mixture of folk and indie music to play up Duncan‘s journey while music supervisor Linda Cohen creates a soundtrack that mixes 80s music with some folk and indie as it’s a fun soundtrack to listen to.

The casting by Allison Jones is brilliant as it features some notable small roles from River Alexander as Susanna’s nerdy younger brother Peter and Zoe Levin as Trent’s bitchy teenage daughter Steph. Nat Faxon and Jim Rash are funny in their respective roles as water park employees Roddy and the nerdy Lewis while Maya Rudolph is wonderful as the more responsible water park co-manager Caitlyn. Allison Janney is hilarious as Susanna’s boozy mother Betty who always carries a drink and always wear clothes to show her sex appeal. Rob Corddry and Amanda Peet are terrific as the couple Kip and Joan whom Trent and Pam hang out with Corddry as the more wild Kip and Peet as the more vivacious Joan.

Annasophia Robb is wonderful as Susanna as a teenage girl jaded by the summer and what her mother is doing as she bonds with Duncan while finding out where he goes and what he does as she also finds a good time. Toni Collette is excellent as Duncan’s mother Pam as a mother wanting to have a good time while dealing with Duncan’s disappearances and moodiness as well as Trent’s often peculiar behavior. Steve Carell is fantastic as Trent as this guy who is a grade A asshole that always says very off-putting things and tries to assure his sense of being a man in his attempt to make Duncan more manly as he truly doesn’t get him. Sam Rockwell is phenomenal as Owen as a man who helps Duncan deal with his growing pains while giving him a place where he can feel at home. Finally, there’s Liam James in a marvelous performance as Duncan as he exudes all of the moodiness of a confused 14-year old kid who is looking for a place in the world as he eventually finds somewhere that he can belong to and have the summer of his life as James brings a lot of sensitivity and energy to his character.

The Way, Way Back is a superb coming-of-age film from Nat Faxon and Jim Rash. Armed with an great ensemble cast as well as an engaging story about a young teen trying to fit in and do something in the summer. It’s a film that is very heartwarming but also very funny while giving something that audiences can relate to. In the end, The Way, Way Back is a remarkable film from Nat Faxon and Jim Rash.

© thevoid99 2013

Please Give

Written and directed by Nicole Holofcener, Please Give is the story about a couple and their daughter dealing with an aging neighbor as they befriend the woman‘s adult granddaughters. Meanwhile, one of the granddaughters try to deal with her lonely life as she starts dating while her grandmother’s neighbor tries to help out any way she can over her worry with the state of the world. Starring Catherine Keener, Oliver Platt, Ann Guilbert, Sarah Steele, Amanda Peet, and Rebecca Hall. Please Give is a clever yet intriguing film from Nicole Holofcener.

Kate (Catherine Keener) and Alex (Oliver Platt) are vintage furniture sellers who have a teenage daughter named Abby (Sarah Steele) who is going through her own growing pains. Living next door is an aging, cranky neighbor named Andra (Ann Guilbert) who is about to turn 91 as she is often cared by her kind yet lonely granddaughter Rebecca (Rebecca Hall). Kate often bumps into Rebecca as they would often have conversations as Rebecca is a radiology technician for breast cancer while her older sister Mary (Amanda Peet) is a cosmetologist. When Kate and Alex invite Andra, Rebecca, and Mary for Andra’s birthday dinner, Kate and Alex reluctantly reveal what they will do to Andra’s apartment when she passes away which doesn’t surprise the more cynical Mary.

With Kate worried about her daughter’s desire to purchase expensive jeans, she wants to help out those who really need things as she often gives money to the homeless and try to volunteer to help out other people. Alex meanwhile, becomes interested in Mary as he goes to her spa for a facial where flirtation ensues with the two. While helping out a patient named Mrs. Portman (Lois Smith), Rebecca meets her patient’s grandson Eugene (Thomas Ian Nicholas) as the two go out where she takes Andra and Mrs. Portman on a ride to the Catskills Mountains. Kate learns that some of the furniture she bought and sold is being sold once again by another competitor which only adds to her anxieties about the state of the world. With Abby more worried about her face and trying to fit in, Alex becomes upset over Kate’s issues while Mary starts to not help Rebecca in caring for Andra leading to a very drastic moment for all involved.

The film is about a group of people dealing with themselves as an old, cranky woman is about to likely to die as her neighbors want her apartment so they can expand their own. While the neighbors don’t want to do anything to hurt anyone, it does leave one of her granddaughters relieved about the whole other while the other is saddened by that prospect. For these four adults and a teenager, they’re all trying to deal with their own place in the world as characters like Kate and Rebecca are two women that really mean well in their generosity. Though it would often backfire for Kate who does upset Abby over the idea of giving away money. Rebecca is a bit more cautious as she has a hard time leading a normal life as she is devoted to taking care of her grandmother until she actually meets someone who is actually a nice guy.

While Alex, Abby, and Mary aren’t entirely selfish people despite their desires for wanting certain things. Alex is just trying to run a store while becomes fascinated by the idea of spa facials where he would have this flirtatious relationship with Mary. Mary likes this relationship although she is having her own issues over by often going to this clothing store and not buy anything. Mary may be the most un-likeable character of the entire film but Nicole Holofcener doesn’t portray her to be that overly-selfish as she does try to help Abby out with her facial breakouts. The script does have a lot of witty dialogue and humor as well as some captivating drama that occurs quite often. The only flaw with it is that it’s uneven due to the fact that there’s a lot of characters involved in their own worlds which doesn’t make the story as tight as it could’ve been.

Holofcener’s direction is quite understated and straightforward in the way she shoots conversations and scenes where characters are walking around the streets of New York City. Yet, the film starts off with these shots of women getting their breasts examined as it’s Holofcener making the audience uncomfortable by what she’s showing. It’s part of her strange yet quirky sense of humor as it revels in the theme of aging that Holofcener does touch on throughout the film. One of Holofcener’s gifts as a filmmaker is the way she directs actors where she can get them to relax and emote in certain ways. Even as she is shooting them on a sidewalk or in a room as she captures the energy of these conversations or allow them to react to their moments in a silent manner. Overall, Holofcener creates an engrossing yet humorous film about people and their willingness to try and be good.

Cinematographer Yaron Orbach does a nice job with the film‘s photography from the colorful daytime look exterior and interior settings to the look of Rebecca and Mary‘s home at night. Editor Robert Frazen does an excellent job with the film‘s editing by utilizing straight yet rhythmic cuts to play with the film‘s humor while maintaining a leisured pace for the film. Production designer Mark White, with art director Lauren Fitzsimmons and set decorators Kim Chapman and Kris Moran, does a brilliant job with the set pieces created from the homes of the characters to the furniture that Kate and Alex are selling in their shop.

Costume designer Ane Crabtree does a wonderful job with the costumes from the casual clothes most of the cast wear to the more stylish look of Mary and Abby. Visual effects supervisor Mark Russell does a good job in recreating some of the exterior of the mountains that Rebecca, Andra, Mrs. Portman, and Eugene go to see. Sound editor Lora Hirschberg does a fine job with the sound work from the exterior settings of the city to some of the intimate moments in some of the interior scenes in the film. The film’s folk-jazz score by Marcelo Zarvos is superb for underplaying the drama and humor of the film.

The casting by Jeanne McCarthy is brilliant for the ensemble that is created along with a slew of appearances from well-known actors such as Scott Cohen as Rebecca’s boss, Kevin Corrigan and Elizabeth Berridge as a couple of furniture sellers, Thomas Ian Nicholas as the very kind Eugene, and Lois Smith as Eugene’s lively grandmother Mrs. Portman. Ann Guilbert is great as the cranky Andra who always spout inappropriate lines about food and everything else while dealing with her old age. Sarah Steele is terrific as the 15-year old Abby who is obsessed with wanting expensive jeans while dealing with her own growing pains and her mother’s obsession with helping people out. Amanda Peet is excellent as the cynical Mary who doesn’t really like her grandmother and always say mean things while befriending Alex over their love of facial spa work.

Oliver Platt is wonderful as the calm yet curious Alex who is interested in Mary’s work while trying to deal with Kate’s own obsession with helping people as well as his furniture business. Rebecca Hall is amazing as the kind and helpful Rebecca who tries to deal with her grandmother as well as her own lonely life as she seeks to find love. Finally, there’s Catherine Keener in a fantastic performance as the well-meaning Kate who tries to deal with her business as well was wanting to make the world a better place. It’s a performance where Keener endures humility as well as the fact that she’s a mess because she can’t fix everything around her as it’s one of Keener’s top performances.

Please Give is a stellar and heartwarming film from Nicole Holofcener. Featuring a remarkable ensemble cast led by Catherine Keener, it’s a film that explores people trying to figure themselves out while helping out those they feel are in need of help. While it doesn’t have a much more concise narrative than Holofcener’s previous films. Holofcener makes up for it by creating real characters that audiences can relate to. In the end, Please Give is a charming film from Nicole Holofcener.

Nicole Holofcener Films: Walking and Talking - Lovely & Amazing - Friends with Money - Enough Said - The Auteurs #22: Nicole Holofcener

© thevoid99 2012

Ellen Foster (TV movie)

Based on Kaye Gibbons’ novel, Ellen Foster is the story of a young girl who is shifted from one home to another due to the death of her mother and the abuse she suffers from her father. Directed by John Erman and teleplay by Maria Nation and William Hanley, the TV movie revolves around a girl trying to find a home and someone to care for her as Jena Malone plays the titular character. Also starring Julie Harris, Ted Levine, Glynnis O’Connor, Zeljko Ivanek, Bill Nunn, Amanda Peet, and Timothy Olyphant. Ellen Foster is a harrowing yet heartfelt melodrama from John Erman.

Ellen is a young 10-year old child living in the South during the 1970s as she lives poorly with an alcoholic father Bill Hammond (Ted Levine) and her ailing mother Charlotte (Glynnis O’Connor), who is suffering from rheumatic flu. After Charlotte’s death, Ellen remains at home living by the money she gets from her uncle to pay bills and food that she can get. Though she was invited to stay at the holiday at the home of her friend Starletta (Allison Jones) and her parents (Bill Nunn and Lynne Moody), they couldn’t adopt her. While her father remains gone for days and her well-meaning aunts looking after her, she remains alone as her father eventually returns to beat her as her art teacher Julia Hobbs (Amanda Peet) notices.

Living temporarily with Julia and her husband Roy (Timothy Olyphant) before the court figures out what to do, Ellen seems to enjoy her new family life until her father arrives outside her school leading to a court case on who would get custody. Though the judge was sympathetic to Ellen’s plight, Ellen is forced to live with her grandmother Lenora Nelson (Julie Harris) whom Ellen never really liked. Despite being cared for by Lenora’s maid and dealing with her grandmother, Ellen was able to have a home until Lenora suffers a stroke. Ellen is once again shifted to another home as she’s given to the care of her aunt Nadine (Debra Monk). Ellen, once again, feels unloved as she’s forced to deal with her bratty cousin Dora (Kimberly J. Brown). Realizing that her only salvation could be in a woman (Kate Burton) that is a foster parent, Ellen wonders if she will ever be taken by a family who loves her.

The TV movie is about a young girl whose broken family life has her shifted from one home to another where she finds herself lost and seeking for someone to care for her. While there’s a few people in young Hobbs couple, an African-American family, and an ideal foster mother that cares for this young girl. This young girl is forced to be shifted to homes to people in her family that don’t really care about her while others might consider her to be a burden which includes her flighty aunt Betsy (Barbara Garrick). Throughout this journey in trying to find some home and family that will take care of her, she eventually change her last name from Hammond to Foster to exemplify what she had just gone through.

While the teleplay does dwell into heavy melodrama because of the girl’s plight along with a few characters that are essentially stereotypes due to its 1970s Southern setting. The script does succeed in exploring the plight of what this young girl through as it’s told largely in her perspective with some voice-over narration that reflects what she’s going through. Yet, Ellen is a child that just wants to be loved and earn her keep as she is forced to contend with superficial aunts and a very spiteful grandmother. Even worse is the law that complicates things as she wants to be with the people that will care for her who aren’t able to due to the law or to their own circumstances.

John Erman’s direction definitely has a few stylistic flairs though he keeps things very straightforward to what is expected in a TV melodrama. Erman does know how to shoot intimate moments or to set a mood while having his camera focused on Ellen in the situations she’s dealing with. While the melodrama is expected to be very sentimental and at times, heavy-handed, it some how manages to go way into that due to what the protagonist is going through. Overall, Erman’s work is stellar as he does create a very engaging drama.

Cinematographer Brian West does a nice job with the photography from the darker world of Ellen‘s original home to more low-key yet colorful shots for the homes that she goes into to exemplify the different homes she encounters. Editor Bill Blunden does a very good job with the editing to maintain a leisured pace with a few dissolves and straight cuts to keep the film going.

Production designer Fred Harpman and set decorator Lin MacDonald do some excellent work to create the look for the different homes that Ellen encounters from the posh home of her grandmother to the more natural yet carefree environment of the Hobbs. Costume designer Linda Matheson does a wonderful job with the costumes to help develop the batch of clothes that Ellen wears in her journey from casual, dirty clothes to more cleaner and fuller dresses late in the film. Sound editor Joseph Melody does a fine job with the sound work to capture some of the intimate moments as well as some of the livelier moments involving multiple characters. The music by John Morris is pretty good for some of the orchestral arrangements though at times, it gets a bit sappy and saccharine with the addition of the harmonica in the score.

The casting by Stuart Aikins, Olivia Harris, and Phyllis Huffman is brilliant as the ensemble cast that is created definitely gives the TV movie more than what is expected in the genre. Performances from Zeljko Ivanek as a school doctor, Kate Burton as the kindly foster mother Abigail, Bill Nunn and Lynne Moody as Starletta’s very caring parents, Allison Jones as Ellen’s best friend Starletta, Kimberly J. Brown as Ellen’s bratty cousin Dora, and Glynnis O’Connor as Ellen’s ailing yet loving mother are all really good. Other roles include Ted Levine as Ellen’s abusive father along with Debra Monk and Barbara Garrick as Ellen’s superficial though caring aunts are notable standouts along with some very lively yet fun performances from Timothy Olyphant and Amanda Peet as a young couple who temporarily take Ellen in.

Julie Harris is excellent as Ellen’s grandmother Lenora who is very spiteful towards her as she believes that her daughter’s death is due to the environment she chose and for bringing Ellen into the world. Finally, there’s Jena Malone in a truly outstanding performance as the titular character. Malone’s performance is definitely the heart and soul of the film as she has to endure a lot of anguish and torment for what she’s going through as her character just wants someone to care for her. It’s a performance that truly exemplifies why Malone was so revered in her early years as a child star as she continues to be one of the most interesting actresses working today.

Ellen Foster is a very good TV movie by John Erman that features a remarkable performance from Jena Malone. While it’s a film that does play by the rules of what is expected in a TV melodrama, there are elements that does give the movie something more to exemplify what this young girl goes through. In the end, Ellen Foster is an engaging TV movie that brings a very compelling tale of child abuse and abandonment.

© thevoid99 2011