Confessions Of An American Girl
Picture: B-
Sound: B- Extras: C- Film: C+
Jena Malone and Brad Renfro are two of the best actors of
their generation and Renfro in particular has been in the trenches more than
any other actor in recent years when it comes to taking risks. Their latest brings them together for Jordan
Brady’s Confessions Of An American Girl (2004) in yet another film that
wants to look at the poorer Southerners in the United States. In this case, we have yet another pregnant young
woman (Malone) who lives in a trailer with her mother (Michelle Forbes) and
family. Her father (Chris Mulkey) is a
murderer who is serving time in jail, someone she has not seen in many years.
That she is pregnant by a spoiled pretty boy (Erik von Detten)
that her father despises does not help his negative reaction to her news, as if
she should care. The new twist is that
her brother (Renfro) is back and brings his own problems. Scott Sandoe’s screenplay is not bad, but it
is also on the predictable side and the slight humor throughout robs the
characters of some dignity, nearly turning all of them into cartoons. Fortunately, the cast rises above that and
makes the film more watchable than it otherwise would have been. Brady can direct and has a good cast to work
with, but too much of the film is patchy to be consistently effective.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image is not bad for
an independent release and cinematographer David Hennings does a credible job
of making this world of poverty and prison feel like just claustrophobic enough
to feel real. The Dolby Digital 2.0
Stereo has Pro Logic surrounds and is not bad, though the music by Amotz
Plessner is minimal. The only extras
are trailers for six other MGM DVDs and previews begin the DVD before the film
starts. If you are going to see this
film, see it for the actors, including Clifton Collins, Jr., who may be the
next big thing playing the father’s prison friend.
- Nicholas Sheffo
