Review: Gregg Araki's 'White Bird in a Blizzard' starring Shailene Woodley and Eva Green

NOTE: This is a reprint of my review from the Sundance Film Festival. White Bird in a Blizzard is available now On Demand.

It's easy to dismiss White Bird in a Blizzard as Shailene Woodley's Havoc, the Anne Hathaway yawner that showed her frisky, naked side in an attempt to break The Princess Diaries stigma she was trapped in. While it may have worked for her, obviously it did, Woodley has always been mature beyond her years, and so as she flashes her nude bod and embraces her character's raw sexuality, it doesn't seem like such a wild step for her; more like a natural progression. It helps that the film is directed by Gregg Araki, whose films usually have more going on beneath the surface than just stories of teen angst and sexual yearning.

White Bird in a Blizzard is based on the novel by Laura Kasischke, adapted by Araki and spruced up with his penchant for the surreal and slightly dysfunctional. Part mystery, part languid coming-of-age story, the film is set in the 1980s, a period that seems to be a particular favorite for Araki, although his hold over the time is purely surface in this case. Vivacious high school student Kat Connors (Woodley) comes home one day to find her totally unhinged mother Eve (Eva Green, at her insane best) fully dressed and sleeping in her room, appearing totally unaware of her surroundings. There's tension between them, but not the normal tension between a parent and child. There's sadness and a touch of hatred on both sides; nothing like the outright venom Eve holds for Kat's father, Brock (Christopher Meloni, tightly coiled), a sad-sack pushover who doesn't seem to know how to handle a house full of strong-willed women. Within a few days, Eve has up and disappeared without a trace or a good-bye note.

The mystery of Eve's disappearance is never far from Araki's attentions, but it lurks in the background of a story that's mainly about Kat's angry steps into womanhood. The chain-smoking, skimpy outfit-wearing Kat knows what she wants, and has no problem going after it. She's literally dating the boy next door, a shirtless dunce (Shiloh Fernandez) who suddenly seems disinterested in sex. So Kat gets what she needs elsewhere, banging the studly cop (Thomas Jane) investigating Eve's disappearance. Kat has no problem going into the gory details of their carnal encounters, describing them in earnest to her best friends (Gabourey Sidibe and Mark Indelicato), a pair of outsiders who happily eat up her stories with a spoon.

We come to learn that Kat used to be overweight, but has shed the pounds and is only now coming to realize her powers over men. But as we watch her develop into a sexual vixen, flashbacks walk us through Eve's deteriorating mental state. Eve wants to be youthful and adventurous again, and sees Kat as a vampire sucking the life right out of her just as much as her boring marriage. As she becomes more erratic, it only becomes more suspicious that nobody seems to be all that concerned about her disappearance. With a slightly out-of-phase tone that's less his "Teenage Apocalypse" trilogy and more Mysterious Skin meets Twin Peaks(Laura Palmer herself, Sheryl Lee, makes an appearance), Araki explores ideas of body image and female identity with an unusual spin, backed by all of the director's favorite '80s pop hits. But Araki has a difficult time mustering up a lot of energy for the story at times, punctuated by pointless therapy sessions between Kat and her shrink (Angela Bassett). It takes forever for things to get moving, and even when they do it often doesn't seem to be going anywhere until Kat's past and present converge in a twist that David Lynch would be proud of, even if it comes out of nowhere.

Eva Green doesn't get a ton of screen time but she's a dominating presence even though her performance is pure camp in the Mommie Dearest mold. She'd tower over everyone if it wasn't for Woodley, again showing remarkable range from insecure teen to confident woman. It's a role that may turn off some of her fans, especially those who know her from the ABC Family days, but at least Woodley has chosen worthy material to make such a bold step. White Bird in a Blizzard lacks momentum as a tawdry mystery, but it's worth seeing for Woodley, Green, and Araki's intoxicating sense of mood.

 Rating: 3 out of 5

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New Trailer for Gregg Araki's 'White Bird in a Blizzard' Starring Shailene Woodley

You wept for her in The Fault in Our Stars and cheered for her in Divergent, but in White Bird in a Blizzard you may be a little bit turned off (or turned on) by the character Shailene Woodley plays. Directed by Gregg Araki, the guy who gave us the "Teenage Wasteland" trilogy in the '90s and helped re-establish Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a serious actor with Mysterious Skin, the film gained a lot of attention at Sundance due to the hypersexual performance by Woodley and the Lynch-ian tone established by Araki.

Following on the recently released poster a new trailer for White Bird in a Blizzard has been released and if nothing else it shows a side of Woodley nobody has ever seen until now. Woodley plays teenaged Kat Connor, a girl just maturing into womanhood, who is coping with the sudden disappearance of her unstable mother, played by Eva Green in full psycho mode.  Christopher Meloni plays her hapless father, while Thomas Jane is a local cop and sexual conquest, while Shiloh Fernandez is her dim-witted boyfriend who simply isn't enough man for her. Angela Bassett co-stars as a therapist while Gabourey Sidibe is Woodley's best friend. Despite the clear Twin Peaks influence the film doesn't totally live up to what Woodley and Green deliver, saying in my review that it "lacks momentum as a tawdry mystery". How audiences react to Woodley here is going to be very interesting because it could have some blow back on her bigger studio projects.

White Bird in a Blizzard hits VOD on September 25th and theaters October 24th.

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See a Different Side of Shailene Woodley in Clip from 'White Bird In A Blizzard'

It hasn't taken long for audiences to absolutely fall in love with Shailene Woodley, and for good reason. Not only has she starred in some great movies, but she has shown a maturity well beyond her age. She's finely tuned her ability to play both strong and fragile characters with equal vigor so that no matter what role she's in we always want to cheer her on. And with The Fault In Our Stars out right now and making people weep openly for her character, it's a wonder what those same audiences will think of  Woodley in White Bird In a Blizzard.

A new clip from Gregg Araki's film has been released and, as noted in my review from Sundance, Woodley is really putting herself out there and embracing her character's raw sexuality. Yep, Woodley plays something of a sexual vixen during parts of this story, as seen in this footage where she's frequently making out with Shiloh Fernandez. There's also a considerable amount of nudity and aggressive sex with Thomas Jane, so this is one movie parents will want to leave the Woodley-loving kids at home for.

So what's the movie about since this clip looks more like a Depeche Mode music video? Woodley plays high school student Kat Connors, a girl whose lunatic mother (played deliciously by Eva Green) suddenly disappears, throwing Kat's life and that of her sad-sack father (Christopher Meloni) into disarray. The story spans years with Araki combining mystery and coming-of-age elements with a vintage spin, but overall the film doesn't work as well as Woodley's shocking performance deserves.

White Bird In a Blizzard hits VOD September 25th and theaters October 24th.

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Sundance Review: Gregg Araki's 'White Bird in a Blizzard' Starring Shailene Woodley

It's easy to dismiss White Bird in a Blizzard as Shailene Woodley's Havoc, the Anne Hathaway yawner that showed her frisky, naked side in an attempt to break The Princess Diaries stigma she was trapped in. While it may have worked for her, obviously it did, Woodley has always been mature beyond her years, and so as she flashes her nude bod and embraces her character's raw sexuality, it doesn't seem like such a wild step for her; more like a natural progression. It helps that the film is directed by Gregg Araki, whose films usually have more going on beneath the surface than just stories of teen angst and sexual yearning.

White Bird in a Blizzard is based on the novel by Laura Kasischke, adapted by Araki and spruced up with his penchant for the surreal and slightly dysfunctional. Part mystery, part languid coming-of-age story, the film is set in the 1980s, a period that seems to be a particular favorite for Araki, although his hold over the time is purely surface in this case. Vivacious high school student Kat Connors (Woodley) comes home one day to find her totally unhinged mother Eve (Eva Green, at her insane best) fully dressed and sleeping in her room, appearing totally unaware of her surroundings. There's tension between them, but not the normal tension between a parent and child. There's sadness and a touch of hatred on both sides. Nothing like the outright venom Eve holds for Kat's father, Brock (Christopher Meloni, tightly coiled), a sad-sack pushover who doesn't seem to know how to handle a house full of strong-willed women. Within a few days, Eve has up and disappeared without a trace or a good-bye note.

The mystery of Eve's disappearance is never far from Araki's attentions, but it lurks in the background of a story that's mainly about Kat's angry steps into womanhood. The chain-smoking, skimpy outfit-wearing Kat knows what she wants, and has no problem going after it. She's literally dating the boy next door, a shirtless dunce (Shiloh Fernandez) who suddenly seems disinterested in sex. So Kat gets what she needs elsewhere, banging the studly cop (Thomas Jane) investigating Eve's disappearance. Kat has no problem going into the gory details of their carnal encounters, describing them in earnest to her best friends (Gabourey Sidibe and Mark Indelicato), a pair of outsiders who happily eat up her stories with a spoon.

We come to learn that Kat used to be overweight, but has shed the pounds and is only now coming to realize her powers over men. But as we watch her develop into a sexual vixen, flashbacks walk us through Eve's deteriorating mental state. Eve wants to be youthful and adventurous again, and sees Kat as a vampire sucking the life right out of her just as much as her boring marriage. As she becomes more erratic, it only becomes more suspicious that nobody seems to be all that concerned about her disappearance. With a slightly out-of-phase tone that's less his "Teenage Apocalypse" trilogy and more MysteriousSkin meets Twin Peaks (Laura Palmer herself, Sheryl Lee, makes an appearance), Araki explores ideas of body image and female identity with an unusual spin, backed by all of the director's favorite '80s pop hits. But Araki has a difficult time mustering up a lot of energy for the story at times, punctuated by pointless therapy sessions between Kat and her shrink (Angela Bassett). It takes forever for things to get moving, and even when they do it often doesn't seem to be going anywhere until Kat's past and present converge in a twist that David Lynch would be proud of, even if it comes out of nowhere.

Eva Green doesn't get a ton of screen time but she's a dominating presence even though her performance is pure camp in the Mommie Dearest mold. She'd tower over everyone if it wasn't for Woodley, again showing remarkable range from insecure teen to confident woman. It's a role that may turn off some of her fans, especially those who know her from the ABC Family days, but at least Woodley has chosen worthy material to make such a bold step. White Bird in a Blizzard lacks momentum as a tawdry mystery, but it's worth seeing for Woodley, Green, and Araki's intoxicating sense of mood.

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First Trailer for 'White Bird in a Blizzard' with Shailene Woodley and Eva Green

Now that Sundance has revealed its full festival slate of movies, there are a few that arrive with considerably more buzz than others. One that will surely open to jam-packed screenings is Gregg Araki's White Bird in a Blizzard, which has Shailene Woodley, Eva Green, Gabourey Sidibe, Thomas Jane, Christopher Meloni, and Shiloh Fernandez starring in the adaptation of Laura Kasischke's novel.

With its debut now only a couple of weeks ago, the first trailer has been released, suggesting this is Araki more in Mysterious Skin territory than Kaboom. Woodley plays Kat Connors, a young woman whose life is upended when her troubled mother (Green) sudden disappears. It's a little odd seeing the 33-year-old Green playing mom to the 22-year-old Woodley, but otherwise this looks extremely promising.

Araki will be shopping for distributors when White Bird in a Blizzard plays at Park City next month.


White Bird In a Blizzard Trailer VO by Sébastien Boulogne

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The bloody red band trailer for the 'Evil Dead' remake

When Sam Raimi first revealed that he was remaking his camp horror classic, Evil Dead, it was unsurprisingly met with skepticism. It would be one thing if Raimi himself was directing, but instead the reins were handed over to newcomer Fede Alvarez. With the promise of a new female Ash replacing the irreplaceable Bruce Campbell, the expectation was that this might fall in with all of the other horror remakes that crashed and burned.

And then the first footage of the film was shown at New York Comic-Con, and the response by the fans was so wildly enthusiastic that they used it in yesterday's trailer tease. After a leaked version of it appeared a few days ago(and was swiftly removed), the full red band trailer has been unveiled and it more than lives up to the hype.

Targeted squarely at the skeptics, immediately the ominous and gory tone is in effect as the blood flows freely and terror is amplified. The cheesiness of the original seems to be taking a back seat in favor a more disturbing experience, capped off by a chilling tongue-slicing. I've said it before that the original Evil Dead isn't a particular favorite, but the redo looks fantastic.

Starring Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Jessica Lucas, Bruce Campbell, Lou Taylor Pucci, and Elizabeth Blackmore, Evil Dead opens on April 12th 2013....

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Shiloh Fernandez joins Gregg Araki's latest, 'White Bird'

Shiloh Fernandez certainly hasn't suffered any ill effects from the laughably bad Twilight ripoff Red Riding Hood from a couple years ago. He's actually seen his stock only go up at a faster rate, with roles in Brit Marling's The East upcoming, and a role in Sam Raimi's Evil Dead(been talking about that a lot lately). Now he can add another promising film to his slate, joining the latest film from the eccentric mind of Gregg Araki.

Fernandez will join Shailene Woodley and Eva Green in White Bird, Araki's first film since the apocalyptic teen comedy Kaboom. While many of Araki's films would be part of the latest wave of "new queer" cinema, he's occasionally ventured out of those confines. Kaboom would be one example, and so would his underrated threesome comedy, Splendor. It's hard to tell where White Bird falls in that regard. All we know is that it involves a woman whose life spirals out of control after the disappearance of her mother.

Fernandez will be seen next opposite Amber Heard in Syrup(trailer here),  a new advertising comedy which should premier at the Sundance Film Festival. [Deadline]

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Leaked trailer for the 'Evil Dead' remake!

NYCC was the place to be over the weekend if you're one of those curious to see how the Carrie and Evil Dead remakes were shaping up. Audiences were treated to new images and footage(which we have here), and the response to all of it has been overwhelmingly positive. But more so than Carrie, Evil Dead caused an uproar from fans who were worried about the changes that would be made to their beloved cult classic. The response from the crowd at the event responded with overwhelming praise, and judging by this newly leaked trailer, I don't think fans of Sam Raimi's film have anything to be concerned about. 

Produced by Raimi and directed by Fede Alvarez, what is immediately apparent in this very hardcore NSFW footage is that it's going to be very violent and incredibly gory. I'm also not sensing much of the campiness of the original. This one is clearly targeting horror fans with strong stomachs, as seen in the copious amounts of blood and chopped up body parts. As I've said before, Evil Dead was never really my thing, but this looks like something to get excited over.

Starring Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, Bruce Campbell, Elizabeth Blackmore, and Jessica Lucas, Evil Dead opens next year on April 12th 2013. Check out the leaked trailer below, and know that we'll update this once the official one hits....[We Got This Covered]

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New trailer for 'Syrup' with Amber Heard and Shiloh Fernandez

Oh yay, another movie about the pervasive nature of marketing and the destructive nature of consumerism. Didn't we just get one of those with Branded a couple of weeks ago? Wasn't Morgan Spurlock's The Greatest Movie Ever Sold enough? Apparently not, and the current hot topic will be taken on again in Syrup, an adaptation of Max Barry's debut novel. At least this one has a pretty sweet cast to go along with it, who get a chance to check out in the newly released trailer.

Directed by Aram Rapaport, Syrup is a comedic satire which follows a guy named Scat(Shiloh Fernandez), who comes up with an idea for a cynical new product called "Fukk", described as "the American Dream in a fu**ing can". He pitches it to the weirdly named 6(Amber Heard), a rep at Coca-Cola, who wants to buy it. But Scat discovers that his roommate Sneaky Pete(Kellan Lutz) has stolen the copyright and sold it himself. Honestly, it sounds stupid and not particularly insightful, which is backed up by the trailer which is too smug for its own good.

Brittany Snow, Josh Pais, and Rachel Dratch co-star, but the film has yet to secure any stateside distribution. It'll be turning up at Sundance next year where it'll be looking for a buyer. Check out the trailer below....

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Shiloh Fernandez takes on the 'Evil Dead' remake

Not everybody escaped last year's awful wannabe Twilight version of Red Riding Hood with their careers unscathed. I would say that star Amanda Seyfried definitely saw her stock plummet, and some of the effects were felt in the poor showing of In Time later in the year. But one I think walked away with little mud on his jersey was Shiloh Fernandez, who has just scored the biggest role of his career.

He'll next join the cast of the Evil Dead remake, playing the boyfriend of the character Lily Collins was set to tackle before she was forced to drop out to go wax her eyebrows or something. Written and directed by Fede Alvarez, with a rewrite by none other than Diablo Cody(Young Adult), the story follows a group of friends in a secluded cabin who unwittingly unleash an army of demons. Collins' character is a woman trying to kick a drug habit with the aid of her boyfriend, but must fight for her life when the creatures attack. Sam Raimi and Ash himself, Bruce Campbell, are producing.

So this is shaping up to be a big year for Fernandez. Evil Dead will film later in the year, and he just finished wrapping Brit Marling's eco-terrorist thriller, The East. [Variety]

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