The Girl In The Park Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES PLOT SUMMARY
Enduringly traumatized by the disappearance of her 3-year-old daughter 15 years ago, Julia Sandburg has cut herself off from anyone once near and dear to her, including her husband Doug and her son Chris, who tried for years to penetrate her wall of isolation and despair, without success. But when Julia meets Louise, a troubled young woman with a checkered past, all Julia's old psychic wounds painfully resurface, as does her illogical and increasingly irrational hope that Louise may be the daughter she lost so long ago.
| Sigourney Weaver | Julia Sandburg |
| Kate Bosworth | Louise |
| Alessandro Nivola | Chris |
| Keri Russell | Celeste |
| David Rasche | Doug |
| Elias Koteas | Raymond |
| Jeremy Kareken | Bartender |
| Alex Burns | Guy |
| Curtiss Cook | Actor |
| Michael Gerrard | Doctor |
| Maury Ginsberg | Marcus Broyard |
| Jeffrey Joseph | Bobby |
| Stephen Kunken | Lee Hall |
| Ian McWethy | Dean |
| David Auburn |
7.70 out of 10 (103 votes)
Visitor Reviews
A pretty competent drama
posted on 03 May 2008Some people suppose that since I am an aficionado of cinema,I also gotta be a fan of theatre,but it is not like that.I do not hate the theatre and I appreciate all the effort coming from the scenic art,but for some reasons,all the plays I went to see did not leave me very satisfied,because I felt on them that the playwrights think that the the most important characteristic of theatre will be enough for compensating the various fails from their plays.The characteristic I am obviously talking about is the presence of actors live.There is an undeniable energy which flows between interpreters and spectators,which makes the drama more immediate and the emotions more intense.What I want to say is that although the presence of the actors on live may make the experience more cathartic,but many playwrights use that as an excuse for presenting weak and predictable stories.The movie The Girl in the Park is based on a play,and maybe because of that I did not expect too much from it,because without the presence of the actors on live,I thought we would only have a weak story.Fortunately,that did not happen and I finished liking this movie pretty much.This movie represents the first work as a director from playwright David Auburn,who wrote the original play.He had already been involved on cinema,adapting one of his plays to the film Proof and writing the screenplay from The Lake House.And,most recently,he has had a pretty solid debut as a director with The Girl in the Park,at the same time he also made a good work as a screenwriter on it.The Girl in the Park brought me a satisfactory and very interesting experience.The best element from it is definitely the excellent performance from Sigourney Weaver.She perfectly depicts the emotional evolution from her character,and she is absolutely involved on it.Kate Bosworth,Alessandro Nivola and Keri Russell also bring competent performances,although they feel a bit darkened by Weaver.And,although he is on a small role,the great David Rasche brings a detailed and solid performance.The movie keeps a good tone and the story is always interesting.The fails I found on this movie are the following : for one side,some moments from the screenplay could have had more elaboration; and for the other side,the ending feels a bit abrupt.There have been various cases of playwrights who make very competent works on cinema on the directing and screen writing fields.Movies like Doubt,Yes and Titus are examples of that.The Girl in the Park is a new addition to that list,and in sight of it,I am definitely interested in watching more movies written and directed by Auburn.I recommend this movie,because I found it to be an entertaining and pretty interesting drama.
Leave this drivel alone!!!
posted on 29 Dec 2007I was really excited when I saw The Girl in the Park DVD on the shelf at my local video store. I really liked Keri Russell in Felicity and the story, about how a mother copes with the disappearance of her daughter looked interesting too. However, that was the last time I felt good about this movie. The script, while based on an intriguing premise, is slow and unrealistic. Sigourney Weaver as the mother and Kate Bosworth play flawed characters that are utterly unlike able. The scenes are drawn out and the one moment where there could have been some action is cut, leaving the events up to the audience's imagination. In fact too much of the movie is left to the audience and whilst I don't mind doing some of the work you expect the director and scriptwriter to do their parts too. My advice is, despite the stellar cast, leave this one alone, it is drivel!!!!
Weaver and Bosworth give Oscar-worthy performances!
posted on 23 Dec 2007I just watched this and OMFG.I really hope this film gets some sort of theatrical release, even if it's just a NY/LA one week deal. It's too way good to be relegated to the "made for TV" or "direct-to-DVD" status, especially considering the performances.Seeing how this is Auburn's second film, it's a great step up from the good-but-not-great "Proof" (which to me, had great performances, but flowed too much like a play). Watching the film pulled me into the world of these characters, and it felt like each character was well-written. From the leads to the supporting (like Keri Russell and Elias Koteas), each person had various emotions and motives within themselves.The film plays more like a suspense drama, seeing how the main payoff you're aiming for is whether or not Bosworth's "Louise" is the long-lost daughter. And wow, once you get it, it's amazingly worth it.I didn't really care for Signourney Weaver's performance in "Baby Mama" earlier this year so I was apprehensive of sitting through this film (with her in the lead) but here, she truly impressed me. From every heartbreaking emotion, or her rage and hatred towards people & herself, she brought out a fully dimensional character that I haven't been taken back by in so many years.Meanwhile, Bosworth has impressed me with her supporting dramatic roles in "Beyond The Sea" and "Wonderland" and I was really happy to see her finally have a film where she has the ability to show off her talent. This is her finest performance to date and she completely blew me away with the various emotions she conveyed.I loved this film, and I hope more people are able to see it.
Just one small beef
posted on 21 Nov 2007My only criticism of this film is in the casting of the son, Chris. He is shorter than Sigourney Weaver and this is genetically impossible. That said, all the actors did a great job. And just HOW did SW look so convincing as both a thirty and a fifty-year old? Some credit to the make up department, sure - but it was the subtle change in the set of her jaw, the rigidity of her body vs fluidity in the early scenes ... The fact that the secondary characters aroused curiosity added to the atmosphere - someone els has complained that their potential stories were not developed. But this was all part of Julia's withdrawal from the World, her loss of interest in anyone after she lost her child.
Excellent, non commercial little psych study
posted on 16 Sep 2007This was a very good, small scale film. Outstanding performances by Weaver & especially Bosworth. Watch it if you are in a mood to stay with a piece & be entertained by analyzing the motivation behind people's behavior. It is not a commercial piece, not your typical movie fare. Good for a rainy day to drop into a cinema and see this, you will be discussing it w/your friends for days afterward. Hope David Auburn does more movies, this is his first directorial try & he did very well. Especially liked the way he handled Sigourney Weaver's personality after her daughter was kidnapped, the panic attacks and inability to socialize are dead on. At the end, the viewer is pretty sure of the ending but the actual facts behind it are not as important as the relationships that the characters have forged. I read a review that argued Julia should have just asked Louise to show her a birthmark but that is totally missing the point. It's a very layered, very dense movie that some will immediately 'get' and others probably never will. It's not a 'chick-flick' but it's a very cerebral movie.
Good build up, weak ending...
posted on 08 Sep 2008While Girl in the Park is never great, it manages to be a solid drama about the loss of a young child and its effect on a mother (Sigourney Weaver).Everything here is well crafted but a little bland and formulaic. We meet tons of characters who have the seeds to provide good drama but many of them (The ex husband, the son, the romantic interest at the office, the daughter in law and her pregnancy) are left with unfinished business by the end of the movie, feeling like little more than plot points. As for Louise, for all the flashiness she offers, she brings very little to the table in the end.In the end, you will feel you have spent a nice evening. The cast does a nice job. Sigourney Weaver gives some soul to her performance and Kate Bosworth is very well cast and provides some sparks and a nice contrast to Weaver.It's a good movie, but not a great one. Some more development, some twists and turns in the second half of the movie would have considerably improved the movie. Instead, we're left with a cheap Hollywood ending, the catalyst of which is too dumb to even write down here.Worth watching as a rental if you like dramas.