White Oleander

 

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Sex & Nudity
Violence & Gore
Profanity
1 to 10

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Somber drama chronicling the life of Astrid (Alison Lohman), a young teenager who's struggling to come to terms with living without a stable, loving family. Astrid is forced through a series of foster homes after her mother (Michelle Pfeiffer) goes to prison for committing a crime of passion. Also with Patrick Fugit, Noah Wyle and Robin Wright. [1:49]

SEX/NUDITY 4 - We hear a woman moaning and banging on a wall suggesting that she and a man are having sex. A man in a robe opens a door and a woman goes into the house: it is implied that the man and woman have sex but nothing is shown. We see a couple making out in the background in a party scene. A man and woman kiss and hug, and a teenage boy and girl kiss and hug a few times. An older man touches a teenage girl's face tenderly (it is suggested that they had sex, but we see nothing else). A woman and two teenage girls are shown in a dressing room in their underwear (the woman wears a thong) exposing cleavage, bare abdomens and buttocks. A woman wears skin-tight outfits that reveal cleavage, her bare back and shoulders in many scenes. A woman wears a leather halter-top (revealing cleavage and bare abdomen) and a mini-skirt (revealing thighs). A woman wears a slinky negligee, a woman wears an oversized shirt that is unbuttoned to show cleavage and her bare abdomen, and a teenage girl wears tank tops that reveal cleavage. A man is shown bare-chested. There is some sexual innuendo: A woman talks about having been an exotic dancer, a woman accuses a teenage girl of trying to take away the man in her life, a teenage daughter asks her mother if a man spent the night, and a woman says a man is "getting what he wants from somebody else." A woman tells her daughter that she and a man had sex, a woman says that her daughter is "hormonal," a woman says she's busy "fighting off sexual advances" in prison, and a woman tells her teenage daughter that the relationship she had with her father was a "sexual" one.

VIOLENCE/GORE 4 - A woman threatens a teenage girl with a gun, then shoots her in the shoulder; we see blood on her shirtsleeve and see a scar in later scenes. A man pounds on a window breaking it (while yelling that he is going to kill the woman inside) and a woman opens a switchblade knife and cuts his hand (we see this scene a few times and we see some blood on the man's hand). A teenage girl puts a knife to the throat of another girl and threatens her. Two teenage girls fight with shoving, yelling and name-calling (one ends up with a bruised eye and a split lip). A teenage girl finds a woman dead from an overdose, she tries to revive her and screams and yells in anger. A woman tells her teenage daughter that she "wanted to throw her against a wall." Loud pounding awakens a girl who sees her mother struggling against police who take her away. A woman yells at her daughter abusively, tries to hit her and the daughter threatens her mother. Men and woman argue bitterly in many scenes. A woman has a bruised eye and cheek apparently from a beating in prison. A movie on TV shows a woman being killed by a man with a chainsaw (it cuts away just before we see anything). A teenage boy talks about having been born addicted to heroin. A teenage girl cuts her hair with a knife. A woman says, "tell him I was killed..." We see fires burning in the mountains near homes.

the review continues below...

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PROFANITY 5 - 1 F-word, 5 sexual references (1 in Spanish, not translated), 3 scatological terms, 4 anatomical terms, 6 mild obscenities, 3 religious profanities, 6 religious exclamations. [profanity glossary]

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Premeditated murder, beauty, rejection, infidelity, paranoia, loneliness, sacrifice, dysfunctional relationships, redemption, teenage pregnancy, cynicism, Children's Services and foster care, hypocrisy, jealousy.

MESSAGE - It's better to know what is true than to believe in what feels good. Don't forget who you are.

(Note: People are shown smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol. It is suggested that one character has a drinking problem and has had a drug problem. A character yells at her daughter for accepting Christianity and her daughter tells her that "thinking for yourself is evil." A foster child is shown pregnant and we hear that she has had two other babies.)

Special Keywords: S4 - V4 - P5 - MPAAPG-13

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