| Overall Grade: |
A |
|
| Story: |
B+ |
|
|
| Acting: |
A |
|
|
| Direction: |
A+ |
|
|
| Visuals: |
B+ |
|
|
Outstanding.
by Yahoo! Movies User (movies profile)
Jun 23, 2007
1
of
1 people found this review helpful
As a self appointed critic, I look for flaws in films, mainly after I've watched them and I go back over them in my mind. I usually find a flaw or two, a lot of times - I find many. I found not one flaw in this short, powerful film.
At barely one hour and twenty minutes this film is divided into several brief segments that center and revolve around the discovery of a murdered young lady found in a remote prairie. Her death has deep, life changing effects on several different women, otherwise unconnected and in different circumstances.
Thers's the basket case, mentally disturbed, verbally abused woman who finds the body; the sister of a girl who went missing fifteen years ago and hopes that the newly discovered dead girl is her sister so she can have closure and move on with her life;the wife of the man who murdered the girl and countless others;the mother of the dead girl;the dead girl's best friend and finally the dead girl herself - in a potent flashback - one of the most potent and powerful I have ever seen.
The perfermorances, though brief, are all outstanding and honest - brutal and truthful, naked and exposed. The dead girl is played by Brittany Murphy in the best role of her career though she gets maybe fifteen minutes of screen time. Her performance is shattering, intense, tough, vulnerable...tragic.
The final shot in this film is so haunting that it stays with you long after viewing. It is so lucid and so very potent that you'd have to be heartless not to be moved and sickened as well as saddened. This film is devastating, tragic but at times liberating. The cinematograpghy is wonderful. The vignettes are compelling. This film is quite an achievement ; to pack so much power in maybe 20 minutes of time.
I can't,however,remember the last time I was so haunted and moved by a final shot so much as I was by the one in this film.
A gem. Do yourself a favor and rent this brutally honest and brave piece of work. Be brave yourself and watch this movie. Four huge stars for The Dead Girl. |
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