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Movies / On DVD / Blue Car
Blue Car

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Blue Car (2003)

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Reviews Counted:85

Fresh:69

Rotten:16

Average Rating:6.9/10

Consensus: A cautionary tale that rings true.

Runtime: 88 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Agnes Bruckner delivers an impressive, assured performance with BLUE CAR, an affecting coming-of-age drama from Karen Moncrieff. Bruckner is Meg, a beautiful teenager who is desperate to find... Agnes Bruckner delivers an impressive, assured performance with BLUE CAR, an affecting coming-of-age drama from Karen Moncrieff. Bruckner is Meg, a beautiful teenager who is desperate to find inspiration and guidance in her otherwise tumultuous life. At an early age, her father left her family behind. Now, there is only her edgy mother, Diane (Margaret Colin), and her increasingly aloof younger sister, Lily (Regan Arnold). Salvation appears to arrive in the presence of Mr. Auster (David Strathairn), Meg's reserved English teacher who takes an interest in Meg's poetry. It isn't long before both Meg and Mr. Auster begin to take an interest in each other, and as an approaching national poetry competition brings the two closer together, deeper feelings emerge. But Meg eventually learns a painful secret about Mr. Auster, which shatters her impressions of the man, and threatens to push her over the edge forever. Moncrieff, a former television actress turned writer-director, turns her potentially formulaic material into ultimately moving entertainment. This can be attributed to the performances of her lead actors. As the conflicted Meg, Bruckner is a perfect blend of budding sexuality and adolescent bitterness. As her damaged teacher, Strathairn is at turns deeply comforting and crushingly evil. [More]

Starring: David Strathairn, Agnes Bruckner, Margaret Colin, Frances Fisher

Starring: David Strathairn, Agnes Bruckner, Margaret Colin, Frances Fisher, Regan Arnold

Director: Karen Moncrieff

Director: Karen Moncrieff
Screenwriter: Karen Moncrieff
Producer: Peer J. Oppenheimer, Amy Sommer, David Waters
Composer: Adam Gorgoni
Studio: Miramax Films

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Reviews for Blue Car

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1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; UK critics are listed first)
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

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Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
10/24/02
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
06/14/03
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
N/R

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Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
05/23/03
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

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Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
07/02/03
Boston Phoenix
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
07/22/03
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
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N/R

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Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
07/02/03
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters
N/R

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Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
04/01/09
David Rooney
David Rooney
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

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Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

An overtly earnest, mopey first feature.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
05/01/03
E! Online
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This film is ultimately disappointing if not only for the lack of originality in the final scenes.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/08/02
Anthony Miele
Anthony Miele
Film Threat

In its studied, naturalistic way, the movie can nonetheless resemble a week of Oprah sobfests.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
05/02/03
Bob Strauss
Bob Strauss
Los Angeles Daily News

Blue Car may not be in the category of a classic, but it's certainly not a total wreck (more like a fixer-upper that's serviceable).

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
05/02/03
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com

I didn't like Blue Car, and the only thing I found appalling is how blatantly predicable and pseudo-daring the supposedly appalling stuff is.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
05/22/03
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The film raises predictability to new levels.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
10/29/02
Erica Abeel
Erica Abeel
Film Journal International

Incorporates every stereotype of 'sensitivity' and 'angst' without ever approaching a genuine emotion.

Full Review Source: Film Blather | comment Comment
05/22/03
Eugene Novikov
Eugene Novikov
Film Blather

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
07/30/02
Greg Muskewitz
Greg Muskewitz
eFilmCritic.com

As bitterness piles upon disappointment piles upon loneliness, Blue Car stalls under the weight of its emotional baggage.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
05/22/03
Jeff Strickler
Jeff Strickler
Minneapolis Star Tribune

Its refusal to come alive as a film, rather than just a good piece of writing, ultimately strands its good intentions.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
05/16/03
Jesse Hassenger
Jesse Hassenger
Filmcritic.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; UK critics are listed first)
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