White Bird in a Blizzard (2014)

Simply Perfect

Purely Joyful Movie!

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

This film is so nonchalant in its storytelling you feel as if the whole thing has been told to you by someone who's been awake for 24 hours and is just about to pass out. Shailene Woodley gives a strong performance but plays an unlikeable self indulgent bore. I couldn't care less about her story and her discoveries because there was nothing to root for. No real sense that the character is a worthwhile one to watch change. The signature seduction scene is cringeworthy and very unsettling, like seeing someone rip a band aid off as slowly as possible. Although for anyone interested, she does indeed have a lovely pair of breasts. At a brisk 91 minutes, we have little time to spend with these characters and the time we do spend with them we neither enjoy or get much in the way of insight or thought. Eva Green was potentially interesting but unexplored, nothing but a mystery. Do we care about this weird, cruel mid life crisis having woman? i did not. She Probably shouldn't have gotten married seeing as it conflicted with her wild child personality. Chirstopher Meloni sits around a lot wearing a moustache but again is one dimensional. Shiloh Fernandez is pretty good at playing a complete dope but again has little else to latch onto. Overall it's just a tepid, boring drama. The colourful cinematography and cool soundtrack is great but there's just so little substance it equals naught.

A curiously combined genre mashing of coming of age story and suburban mystery, famed indie director Greg Araki's adaptation of Laura Kasischke's book White Bird in a Blizzard is anything but formulaic which will alienate many viewers with its obscure tone but also win over its portion of fans with a narrative that remains constantly engaging even when things get undeniably weird.With more than a dollop of David Lynch and even a hint of Tim Burton in the mix here, Araki has crafted an almost dreamlike state of a movie that often finds just the right amount of seriousness and curios. The central plot line of Shailene Woodley's Kat Connors, a teen growing up amidst the strange and out of nowhere disappearance of her struggling with the mundanities of life wife and stay at home mum Eve, is but a jumping off point for Araki to explore a range of emotions felt by those going through adolescence and in doing so he creates a film that is all at once both reflective and relatable and also highly unusual. Paramount to Blizzard's success as a feature film is the increasingly impressive Woodley who is the heart and soul of this dark tale.So good in smaller budget character studies like The Descendants and the fantastic The Spectacular Now, it's great to see Woodley once more shy away from the likes of Fault in our Stars and the dreary double pronged attack of Divergent and Insurgent and Blizzard could just be her most astute performance yet in what is a role that requires her both emotionally and psychically to bare quite a bit. Outside of Woodley's turn there is sadly yet another overblown Eva Green performance who is quickly becoming one of the most irritating performers on the big screen but in some ways her troubled character of Eve requires some left of field antics.Filmed with a finely sensed humour and some downright darkness, White Bird in a Blizzard is a film all unto its own and a film that could just become a new favourite for those that like their films more Donnie Darko than The Avengers. With an unsuspecting final act bookending an always intriguing set up, Blizzard is a quiet and low key achievement that ranks as one of Araki's most efficient and evocative films and yet another showcase for Woodley's exciting career trajectory.3 ½ awkward dinner invites out of 5

This film is so awesome I literally can not believe that this got bad reviews maybe it's because of the book it is based on I don't know but I thought it was a great well directed and very well acted film. Shailene woodly gives the performance of her career in this one and Christopher meloni was very good playing the sensitive super secretive father in thus film I also thought Eva green was amazing as the mean Suzi homemaker mother in this one and even the supporting cast is great the girl from precious as one of shailene woodlys characters two close friends and also the gay guy actor and the boyfriend actor were also great in this one. The only major issues I had with this one was the relationship that woodlys character had with the detective on her mothers disappearance case i just did not get it why did that need to happen I mean sure he was the first one to tell her that he thought her mother was killed by her father but I still just didn't like it at all. The other problem that I had with it was the pacing it just seemed like the director sped through a lot of the film particularly the relationship between the main character and her boyfriend I mean I get it he only had 90 minutes to work with but I still feel like he rushed the film a bit at times and it was a tad bit fast paced. However if you want to see shailene woodly the adult you will be very satisfied with this film because not only does she drop the f bomb a couple of times but she literally shows off her womanly rack I mean these were some of the greatest tits I have ever seen in a film I know I am a pervert but I don't care. Overall a great mystery independent crime thriller a true hidden gem and one that was probably very much overlooked also had a very great payoff and twist at the end of the film and the ending could not have been more perfect please see this one 8/10.

Unfortunately, White Bird in a Blizzard is just plain boring. There are only so many times you can see teenagers talking about and having sex. The story is one dimensional at best, but what makes this hard to watch is just the monotone, depressing state this movie draws you into. Whilst it's task is to show the life change when a parent walks out on you, it just seems to try too hard for emotions to flow, giving it an ambitious feel which ultimately doesn't work. I wish I could have liked this film, but there are too many issues which plague the story and directing. Nothing feels engaging enough for you to understand the characters and everything feels dry and boring with no excitingly entertaining progression in sight. To be honest, I wish I could erase everything about this movie from my mind, all except the gratuitous nudity which, sadly, is its only redeeming factor.