BLUE CAR (2003) **** David Strathairn, Agnes Bruckner, Margaret Colin, Frances Fisher, A.J. Buckley, Regan Arnold, Sarah Beuhler, Dustin Sterling, Mike Ward. Excellent indie festival hit about a teenage girl (Bruckner in a heartbreakingly raw turn) whose only solace from her crumbling domestic life is in her gift as a poet is mentored by her well-meaning but clearly coercive English teacher (Strathairn in one of his best performances) who goads her into a contest. First time filmmaker Karen Moncrieff delivers a truly audacious debut with a gift for character development and strong narrative as well as a shrewd cast (Colin gives her best turn too as Bruckner's downward spiraling mom and young Arnold as her baby sister is absolutely stunning) adds a lift above the norm in coming-of-age flicks that resonates with pitch-perfect depictions of a young woman coming into her own. One of the year's best films.
Review of Blue Car
