Product: The Dead Girl (2006)
Rating: 2.0
2 1/2 stars for good individual performances but it just doesn't hold up
The film should have a warning label. Anyone struggling with depression should not watch this movie. Few movies about serial killers are happy affairs, so what's the problem? It would seem that every character is in some stage of being off kilter beginning with the gruesome opening when Arden (Toni Collette) finds the decaying remains of a young woman in a field near her home. She is shy and intimidated by the attention and publicity given her. A clerk in a grocery store asks her out on a date, but is freaked out when Arden suggests he manhandle her. This opening act is followed by 4 more (I think) where the characters are linked to the dead girl. Although I'm not familiar with the writer/director Karen Moncrieff, even casual movie goers would recognize the cast: Piper Laurie, Giovanni Ribisi, Rose Byrne, James Franco, Mary Steenburgen, Bruce Davison, Mary Beth Hurt, Marcia Gay Harden, Kerry Washington, Brittany Murphy, Josh Brolin and others. Obviously the actors trusted Ms. Moncrieff. How else do you get Collette doing the "full monty" and a nearly 60 year old Mary Beth Hurt going topless?This is conflictingly what is right and what is wrong about the film. Each actor is brilliant and manages to chew up their role, small though it is in all cases. At the same time, I felt like I was watching individual performances rather than a cohesive story. There's nothing wrong with the detachment of the characters and how they ultimately fit into the dead girl premise, it's just that so much information is missing along the way. I did like the chapter where Hurt's character discovers her husband's secret. Her response and her ultimate plan of action were creepy and interesting. While the parts are very good, the whole of the movie is just a little lacking. Now, where's my Zoloft?