Product: The Dead Girl (2006)
Rating: 4.0
Mothers and daughters . . .
Written and directed by Karen Moncrieff, this film tells a darkly disturbing story about the murder of a young woman. Told in five separate episodes, each with a different point of view, the film represents murder not as a plot device but as something closer to what it is in actuality - a brutal ending of a life with an impact that reaches far beyond the victim and in unexpected ways.As written by Moncrieff, much of the film is about tortured and deeply conflicted relationships between mothers and daughters. Performances are provided by a cast of mostly seasoned actors, the most moving of them being Marcia Gay Harden, who gives a devastatingly understated portrayal of the victim's mother. While all the episodes are unnerving, perhaps the darkest is the gradual revelation of the killer. The DVD includes a director's commentary, plus short interviews with the director and several cast members.