Blue Car Review
by Harvey S. Karten (harveycritic AT cs DOT com)February 1st, 2003
BLUE CAR
Rating out of 4 stars: 3.5
Reviewed by Harvey Karten
Miramax Films
Director:Karen Moncrieff
Writer: Karen Moncrieff
Cast:David Strathairn, Agnes Bruckner, Margaret Colin, Regan Arnold, Frances Fisher
Screened at: Broadway, NYC, 1/30/03
Sexual relationships between college instructors and their students are not unknown and, in some cases, no punitive actions are taken against the trusted adults. In high school, such liaisons are not simply frowned upon but, upon presentation of sufficient evidence, lead to the dismissal of the offending teachers. While criminal action probably cannot be taken against teachers whose charges are over eighteen, the practice can hardly be condoned under any circumstances. In Karen Moncrieff's "Blue Car," a complex relationship finds a troubled eighteen-year-old, Meg (Agnes Bruckner) enjoying the attentions of her Advanced Placement English teacher, Mr. Auster (David Straithairn). At first we in the audience consider the mentor-pupil connection as one between a disturbed kid and a healthy, dedicated instructor. We wonder whether the situation will turn this assumption on its head.
If you believe that introversion fosters a talent for poetry, writer- director Karen Moncrieff will not put your presumption on trial. In a dead-on performance by newcomer Agnes Bruckner, the young actress portrays a girl from a troubled home that finds her mother, Diane (Margaret Colin) struggling to provide comfort and a minimal financial backing for her daughters Meg and for ten-year-old Lily (Regan Arnold). Their father had abandoned the Ohio family, rarely visiting and only sporadically visiting his daughters. Lily reacts by occasionally mutilating herself, then turning seriously ill with anorexia. Meg finds solace and encouragement with Auster, her English teacher, who mentors her through a regional poetry competition, even sharing his lunches with her. When the two meet in Florida where Meg is to participate in the national poetry finals, Auster moves their connection up several notches, causing Meg to reevaluate her condition and take decisive action to change her life.
"Blue Car" (the title stands for the vehicle in which Meg's dad left home for good)) is structured as a straightforward narrative. While there are no flashbacks or obvious special effects, Moncrieff's tale is in no way a run-of-the-mill sojourn into the obligatory suffering of sensitive adolescents but rather a subtle and slowly developing saga whose complexities are revealed with astonishing credibility. As Walter Burke frequently tells us in Roger Donaldson's "The Recruit," nothing is what it seems. While Meg comes across a vulnerable adolescent on the cusp of womanhood, Agnes Bruckner convincingly shows us her tougher side. In his low-key role as a nurturing high-school teacher, David Straithairn will give pause to parents in the audience whose children proffer copious praise of their dedicated teachers. Subtle details emerge, caught by the more astute folks in the movie audience. For example, Auster's wife Delia (Frances Fisher), an unhappy alcoholic, displays altogether too much physical affection for her teen son, who has all the markings of a mama's boy. Notice the way she seductively invites her kid into the water on the Florida beach.
Of the supporting players, O.J. Buckley provides most of the film's humor in the role of a 20-something delinquent, Pat, the sort whom many a high school co-ed would find appealing. He and Meg trade stories of their petty thefts and together plan additional rip-offs in department stores and local pharmacies. The real find of the show is Regan Arnold as little Lily, the freckle-faced anorectic who is dispensed with all too soon, a lass who together with her pretty older sister proves to those of us who are incredulous that smart, adorable kids can be as troubled as the most materially deprived teenagers.
Rated R. Running time: 96 minutes. (C) 2002 by
Harvey Karten, [email protected]
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