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Blue Car

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Blue Car (2003)

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Reviews Counted:33

Fresh:30

Rotten:3

Average Rating:7.2/10

Consensus: A cautionary tale that rings true.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for sexual content and language

Runtime: 88 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:May 2, 2003 Limited

Box Office: $397,645

Synopsis: Agnes Bruckner delivers an impressive, assured performance with BLUE CAR, an affecting coming-of-age drama from Karen Moncrieff. Bruckner is Meg, a beautiful teenager who is desperate to find... Agnes Bruckner delivers an impressive, assured performance with BLUE CAR, an affecting coming-of-age drama from Karen Moncrieff. Bruckner is Meg, a beautiful teenager who is desperate to find inspiration and guidance in her otherwise tumultuous life. At an early age, her father left her family behind. Now, there is only her edgy mother, Diane (Margaret Colin), and her increasingly aloof younger sister, Lily (Regan Arnold). Salvation appears to arrive in the presence of Mr. Auster (David Strathairn), Meg's reserved English teacher who takes an interest in Meg's poetry. It isn't long before both Meg and Mr. Auster begin to take an interest in each other, and as an approaching national poetry competition brings the two closer together, deeper feelings emerge. But Meg eventually learns a painful secret about Mr. Auster, which shatters her impressions of the man, and threatens to push her over the edge forever. Moncrieff, a former television actress turned writer-director, turns her potentially formulaic material into ultimately moving entertainment. This can be attributed to the performances of her lead actors. As the conflicted Meg, Bruckner is a perfect blend of budding sexuality and adolescent bitterness. As her damaged teacher, Strathairn is at turns deeply comforting and crushingly evil. [More]

Starring: David Strathairn, Agnes Bruckner, Margaret Colin, Frances Fisher

Starring: David Strathairn, Agnes Bruckner, Margaret Colin, Frances Fisher, Regan Arnold

Director: Karen Moncrieff

Director: Karen Moncrieff
Screenwriter: Karen Moncrieff
Producer: Peer J. Oppenheimer, Amy Sommer, David Waters
Composer: Adam Gorgoni
Studio: Miramax Films

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Release:

Oct 14, 2003

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Blue Car
  • Featuring the unforgettable performances of sensational newcomer Agnes Bruckner (MURDER BY NUMBERS), David Strathairn (L.A. CONFIDENTIAL), Margaret Colin (UNFAITHFUL), and Frances Fisher (TITANIC), BLUE CAR tells a powerful coming of age story in the provocative style of AMERICAN BEAUTY. Having been abandoned by her father and neglected by her overworked mother (Colin), young Meg (Bruckner) turns to her English teacher (Strathairn) for solace and inspiration. But the safety of what begins as a mentoring relationship turns increasingly complex and ambiguous as the tension in her family grows! Overwhelmingly acclaimed by the nation's critics, this powerful tale of sex and betrayal is certain to leave you with a lasting impression!
  • Source: Buena Vista Home Entertainment.
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for Blue Car

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    1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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    Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
    04/01/09
    David Rooney
    David Rooney
    Variety
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Worth watching for the coming-out party of Agnes Bruckner, a relative newcomer who shows her mettle with an extraordinary performance in this very ordinary tear-jerker.

    Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
    06/12/03
    Bill Muller
    Bill Muller
    Arizona Republic
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    An impressive first effort from Ms. Moncrieff, but the eternal Aristotelian in me finds it depressing to watch characters always walking around in moral quicksand.

    Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
    06/11/03
    Andrew Sarris
    Andrew Sarris
    New York Observer
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The film is strengthened by the two leading performances.

    Full Review Source: New Republic | comment Comment
    05/28/03
    Stanley Kauffmann
    Stanley Kauffmann
    New Republic
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    We've seen this unhappy scenario played out many times before, but seldom with a better eye for detail.

    Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
    05/23/03
    Nicole Arthur
    Nicole Arthur
    Washington Post
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Certainly no feel-good flick of the summer. But it's always tough and honest.

    Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
    05/23/03
    Stephen Hunter
    Stephen Hunter
    Washington Post
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    It's rare that a movie makes a viewer experience the psychodynamics of an encounter so profoundly -- usually theater is a better medium for that -- but Moncrieff has exceptional skills.

    Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
    05/23/03
    Carrie Rickey
    Carrie Rickey
    Philadelphia Inquirer
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The story is so well-acted and honestly written that after a while it stops bothering us that we know where it's going.

    Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
    05/23/03
    Eric Harrison
    Eric Harrison
    Houston Chronicle
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    It's that central dance between teacher and student that makes the movie both hard to watch and worth your attention -- a subtle waltz of power in which it's difficult to tell who's leading until too late.

    Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
    05/23/03
    Ty Burr
    Ty Burr
    Boston Globe
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    It's a writer-director's important debut and a giant leap to leading roles for a brave actress.

    Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
    05/22/03
    Jane Sumner
    Jane Sumner
    Dallas Morning News
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    As bitterness piles upon disappointment piles upon loneliness, Blue Car stalls under the weight of its emotional baggage.

    Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
    05/22/03
    Jeff Strickler
    Jeff Strickler
    Minneapolis Star Tribune
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    I didn't like Blue Car, and the only thing I found appalling is how blatantly predicable and pseudo-daring the supposedly appalling stuff is.

    Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
    05/22/03
    Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
    Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
    Atlanta Journal-Constitution
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    From the rain-streaked windshield to the unaffected line readings from a stellar cast, there is not a shot in Blue Car that doesn't ring true.

    Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
    05/16/03
    C.W. Nevius
    C.W. Nevius
    San Francisco Chronicle
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Blue Car isn't an easy ride, but it's worth taking.

    Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
    05/16/03
    Tom Long
    Tom Long
    Detroit News
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    A valuable cautionary tale.

    Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
    05/16/03
    Roger Ebert
    Roger Ebert
    Chicago Sun-Times
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    A beautifully crafted and painfully sincere movie that makes most dramas about teenagers seem about as real and relevant as American Pie.

    Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
    05/16/03
    Terry Lawson
    Terry Lawson
    Detroit Free Press
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Thanks to Bruckner and Strathairn, who's queasy beyond the call of duty, this is one indie that resonates well beyond the end credits.

    Full Review Source: San Jose Mercury News | comment Comment
    05/15/03
    Glenn Lovell
    Glenn Lovell
    San Jose Mercury News
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    For the most part, Blue Car succeeds in fulfilling Meg's assignment to 'touch the hidden nerve.'

    Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
    05/15/03
    Mark Caro
    Mark Caro
    Chicago Tribune
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    It's rare that a first-time director demonstrates such a sure hand, but Moncrieff is the real deal.

    Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
    05/09/03
    Peter Howell
    Peter Howell
    Toronto Star
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The movie unfolds, wobbling between scenes that feel fresh and genuine and others that feel seriously overfreighted with ethical judgments.

    Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
    05/09/03
    Liam Lacey
    Liam Lacey
    Globe and Mail
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
     
     
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