| Overall Grade: |
C+ |
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| Story: |
C+ |
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| Acting: |
B+ |
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| Direction: |
C+ |
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| Visuals: |
C+ |
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Hollywood and Drug Addicts
by Jersey Joe (movies profile)
Nov 5, 2007
11
of
12 people found this review helpful
Hollywood loves making movies about drug addicts. It likes to humanize them and show us why they are what they are. I think actors like playing drug addicts as drug addicts give the actors so much to work with in terms of performance. Mood swings, body language and a non-glamorous, but credible film credit must make actors drool.
"Sherrybaby" is about a drug addicted woman who is just put on parole at the beginning of the movie. Giancarlo Esposito plays here parole officer. He shows no patience for her or her situation because, as a parole officer, he's seen it too many times before.
Sherry has a tough time getting back into society and into her daughter's life. This tough time is caused by her own unrealistic expectations.
Throughout most of the film, the audience and most of the other characters in the film itself are very uncomfortable in Sherry's presence. She leaves a halfway house after a run in with a fellow parolee. This leads her to move in with her ner brother and his wife who have been raising Sherry's daughter Alexis. The tension is obvious as are Sherry's inadequacies as a parent.
Her brother and his wife send her to a motel because of her behavior. In this scenario, as in most, she sees herself as a victim. Throughout the film, she she acts inappropriately and makes one bad decision after another.
In the end, as uncomfortable as the film is, we understand that while Sherry cannot be given sympathy (it's not healthy for her), she also shouldn't be judged harschly. There are reasons Sherry is the person she is.
Maggie Gyllenhaal gives a great performance as Sherry and the movie feels real. But I feel as if I've seen the realistic look at screwed up lives before. A lot. This is merely one more. Gyllenhaal's performance notwithstanding, I'm not a fan of this film because as real as it is, it's too familiar. |
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