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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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81 - 93 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

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

Strathairn works miracles by finding the humanity in a deeply flawed man. And Bruckner is an amazement, piercing the heart without begging for sympathy.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
11/06/02
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone

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

When Meg looks mournfully over a box of scattered pictures (lighting the corners of her mind, no doubt), Blue Car, already maudlin, suddenly and terrifyingly becomes Purple Rain.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
10/18/02
Walter Chaw
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

The false notes at the beginning give way to a darkly satisfying coming-of-age drama, capped by a truly cathartic poetry reading.

Full Review Source: eye WEEKLY | comment Comment
10/02/02
Kim Linekin
Kim Linekin
eye WEEKLY

Story provides such a poignant and believable characterization of Meg that it easily touches your heart.

Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | comment Comment
09/28/02
Steve Rhodes
Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews

[Blue Car contains] a fantastic (and most likely star-making) performance by Agnes Bruckner and a script that never strikes a false or phony note.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
09/25/02
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

A moody, almost somnolent film in which good performances outweigh the oppressive subject matter.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
09/18/02
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

If three-dimensional characters, a well-rounded screenplay, doomed love and dramatic insight 'do it' for you, this film is sure to stimulate.

Full Review Source: JoBlo's Movie Emporium | comment Comment
09/06/02
JoBlo
JoBlo
JoBlo's Movie Emporium

Not unlike Robert J. Siegel's Swimming, this little gem plays out an awful lot like adolescence.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
08/29/02
Ed Gonzalez
Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine

Handles a difficult subject with an admirable mixture of sensitivity and frankness.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
08/21/02
Frank Scheck
Frank Scheck
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

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

The performances here top-notch across the board.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
07/29/02
Annlee Ellingson
Annlee Ellingson
Boxoffice Magazine
 
 
81 - 93 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5
all

Latest News for Blue Car

April 14, 2005: Actors Sign Up for a Taste of "Blood and Chocolate"
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