Search - Bastard out of Carolina

Accomplished actress Anjelica Huston, daughter of John Huston, made her directorial debut with this absorbing, often wrenching story of child abuse in the 1950s American South. Based on a novel by Dorothy Allison, the film (narrated by Laura Dern) tells the tale of Bone (Jena Malone), a poor white girl so named because she was born right after her mother survived a terrifying car crash. While Bone is still a small child, her single mother, Anney (Jennifer Jason Leigh), meets and marries the sweet Lyle (Dermot Mulroney), and the two add another daughter to the family before Lyle dies in an auto accident. Anney is next courted by the less good-natured Glen (Ron Eldard), who takes out his rage on Bone both physically and sexually, as Bone becomes even more disillusioned at her mother's inability to get away from her monstrous husband. Set in South Carolina in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Bastard Out Of Carolina touches on many aspects of life, family, and hardship amidst the poor white of the South. TNT owner Ted Turner refused to air the film, ostensibly because of its difficult subject matter, but the film goes out of its way to handle its material with as little exploitation as possible. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

Jennifer Jason Leigh - Anney
Ron Eldard - Glen
Jena Malone - Bone
Glenne Headly - Ruth
Lyle Lovett - Wade

1996

Best Debut Performance (nominee)

Independent Spirit Awards

Jena Malone

Actress Anjelica Huston's directorial debut deals with the sensitive subject of childhood abuse. It is a pity that WinStar couldn't have been more in tune with this sensitivity when releasing the film on DVD. Instead, they have packaged a good, solid film with only cursory extras, though the technical presentation is adequate. The performances of Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jena Malone do shine through on this clear transfer, and the colors of South Carolina retain their splendor in variety as well as consistency. The image appears in its original full frame ratio of 1:33:1, but this is not in any way obvious nor does it deter from the overall aspect. There are a few occurrences of loss of detail, with scratches appearing every now and again, but they are too subtle and brief to be much of a nuisance. The Dolby Surround Audio is clean and is mixed evenly with the background music.
As this is the directorial debut of a noted actress, it would have been nice to see WinStar include a director's commentary or information on the story itself in the form of a featurette. Instead, the only special features are the original theatrical trailer, scene selection, brief filmographies of the main actors, and a rather confusing Web link available to computer users. ~ Marsha Mehran, All Movie Guide

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