6.5/10

In 1988, Eve Connor, a mother (Eva Green) and enigmatic house wife goes missing. She leaves behind her 17 year old daughter Kat (Shailene Woodley) and soft spoken husband Brock (Christopher Meloni) in a dull trance as they try to pick up the pieces of her disappearance. White Bird in a Blizzard is the adaptation of the novel from the same name, and the newest film from Director Gregg Araki. Araki is one of those directors who always has a story to tell. Even if ‘Blizzard’ isn’t his story, he is the perfect director for this movie with his crystal clear cinematography complete with beautiful white out shots to represent the dreams going on in Kat’s mind. These shots feel like a call back to ‘The Lovely Bones’ with dreamy sequences representing the mysterious possibilities playing out in Kat’s head about the loss of her mother. He also directs Woodley to one of her best performances to date. When all is said and done, Woodley will be remembered for The Fault in Our Stars in 2014, but i think White Bird in a Blizzard takes that growth she acquired in the former film and presents her as a melodrama heavyweight among other young actors in her age group. Woodley wasn’t afraid to take her character as far as the novel represented. The teenager breaks out into her newfound sexuality, but is still haunted deep underneath by the disappearance of her mother. Woodley is naive but brilliant in this role. She plays a teenager very well because she has done nothing but dramatic roles to this point. The actress herself is only 22 years old, so portraying a teenager doesn’t feel too off target for her audience. If you see this film for one reason alone, make sure it’s Eva Green’s portrayal as the loose cannon, Eve. Green has done nothing but steal movies that she has starred in since 2008, and this film is no exception. Her portrayal feels like ‘Mommy Dearest’ before the explosion comes. You feel something boiling underneath in this woman’s psyche, and it can never be ignored as a possible reasoning for her disappearance. There is something about the actresses reactions and looks that make her believable to play unstability better than anyone in Hollywood today. The supporting cast is also very noteworthy on paper, but suffer from not really having a lot to do. Angela Basset, Gabourey Sidibe, Thomas Jane, and Sheryl Lee all bring something different to the mystery, but never quite get enough camera time to make the kinds of impact that Woodley or Green make. The film does have a lot of sexuality including the first nude scenes from the young Woodley. I think it works for more than just nudity for the sake of nudity because teenagers are learning a lot faster as time goes on. Even in 1988, they couldn’t wait to be adults, so i think the sex scenes are appropriate for such a story. Araki has never been one to be afraid of sexual exploration with his young characters, and might be one of the best coming of age directors going today. The timeline setting of 1988 i felt was done very faithful to the kinds of music that kids were listening to, and places they were going in that era. Araki knows what music represents the generations that he showcases in his films, and this movie is no exception. There are lots of good synth pop new wave styles being represented here, but my favorite selection comes from “Pictures of You” by The Cure. It is one of my all time favorite songs, and will make you feel as nostalgic as Kat does thinking about her mother while this track is playing. The final act of the film does slow the movie’s mystery thriller pace down a little bit, but a shocking revelation in the final three minutes more than makes up for this stalling. What is funny about the bombshell is that it has nothing to do with the disappearance, but instead more about one of our main characters. White Bird in a Blizzard is about letting go of life’s haunting memories to become your own bird flexing your wings. It’s an entertaining enough 90 minutes that you won’t regret seeing for the two female protagonists and beautifully bold shooting style of the great Gregg Akari.