for more than a decade , anjelica huston has been one of america's finest actresses . 
in her directorial debut , bastard out of carolina , based upon dorothy allison's largely autobiographical book on child abuse and poverty in the south , huston displays impressive proficiency behind the camera as well . 
the film tells the story of ruth anne boatwright , nicknamed bone by one of her uncles at birth , in post-world war ii south carolina . 
through voice-over ( narration done by laura dern ) , we find that she nearly didn't survive birth , as her single mother anney , played by jennifer jason leigh , was thrown through the windshield during an automobile accident . 
that's just the beginning of her troubles . 
bone is deemed illegitimate on her birth certificate , a social stigma which her mother and her large poor family obsesses over for years to come . 
anney meets and weds lyle , a kind man and good stepfather whom gives bone a baby sister before dying in an automobile accident . 
anney's brother earle , played by michael rooker , introduces her to glen , played by ron eldard , a co-worker at the mill . 
glen , the black sheep of a wealthy family ( " when are you gonna make your daddy proud ? 
i'll tell you when - never ! " 
he's told ) and filled with bitterness , courts anney and eventually wins her , despite warnings of a violent temper . 
when anney miscarries with his much-prized baby boy , glen loses his capability to supress his violent outbursts and begins to direct them at bone , beating and abusing her , while the love-dependent anney tries to turn a blind eye and justify his behaviour . 
things turn for the worse when glen loses his job and the family of four sink into impoverishment . 
while set several decades ago , this story remains completely relevant in today's society , where abused wives return to their husbands , and abuse committed against children by one spouse is routinely overlooked by the other . 
the real star of this domestic drama is not top-billed jennifer jason leigh , but child actress jena malone , who plays bone in a wrenching and wholly impressive debut performance . 
her work is of award-calibre , and in this age in which a preponderence of superb child performers have emerged ( kirsten dunst , tina majorino , anna paquin , natalie portman , christina ricci , elijah wood ) , malone's performance stands up well . 
leigh's performance in bastard out of carolina is fine , although she's not really given much to do , and ron eldard work is very solid , skillfully manouvering his character's moods in and out of explosive rage . 
one can always sense that underneath his glen is a pressure-cooker ticking away . 
of the supporting cast , special note must be made of the criminally underrated michael rooker's performance . 
there's a bit too much generic formulaism in the screenplay for my taste , from the various characters spouting off country bumpkinisms , to the familiar sight of a dried-up uptight wise old granny ( played by grace zabriskie ) sitting on the porch rocking chair , to impassioned soliloquies better suited for a stage performance . 
still , it cannot be denied that anne meredith's screenplay contains a wallop of emotional power . 
huston's direction of the film is surehanded and impressive , giving the film good pacing and eliciting good performances from her cast , particularly the young malone . 
her sequences of child abuse are shot in a hard-hitting emotional , rather than graphic , manner , and are very effective . 
huston's talent with camera positioning is wonderful , from a visually striking shot done through a fan , to an extended sequence in the front seat of an automobile . 
the film has the toned-down feel of a television production ; bastard out of carolina was originally composed and cut for broadcast on the tnt cable station , who ended up declining the film due to sentiments that scenes of abuse and rape in the film were too disturbingly realistic for their audience . 
perhaps some sequences of the film may be unpleasant , but as a whole bastard out of carolina adds up to a powerful viewer experience worth seeing .