Bastard Out of Carolina

Anjelica Huston, an unequivocally wise and intuitive actress, takes on a dark, rambling Southern tale for her first directorial effort, an adaptation of Dorothy Allison's book with so many peaks and valleys it plays like a chopped up TV mini-series, the... Full review

This is an often shocking but necessary film about a young girl called Bone and the abuse she suffers at the hands of her stepfather, Daddy Glen. The film is hard to watch at times but there are lighter moments when... Full review

Not for the Squeamish! It deals with sexual abuse of children. I saw an interview with Jenna Malone and she was emphatic to re-assure people that she was not herself abused during this film, she got along very well with Ron... Full review

I just watched this movie in my Advanced Developmental Psychology class, and I was blown away by it. Naturally, the professor warned us that the film contained some very graphic scenes, as it certainly did. There were moments where I absolutely... Full review

An excellent cast who do their best with an awful script, inept direction, and some of the worst score that I have ever heard. More TV movie of the week than serious drama. Which is sad when one considers that the... Full review

I just finished watching this movie again for the third time in the last two days. Each time I watch it I discover something I missed in the previous viewing. There are no wasted lines or scenes. It is a powerful... Full review

Knowing that the movie deals with the multiple abuse of a young girl, I first read a long interview with Jena Malone, who plays 10 year old Bones, about her role in the movie and the relationship with both her mother... Full review

Sure, it's imperfect, but then so are most classics. "It's a Wonderful Life" is loaded with stereotypes, banalities, and over-acting. "Casablanca" features trite dialog, and the characters of Paul Henreid and Ingrid Bergman seem pretty wishy-washy for supposed heroes. "Bastard" is... Full review

Anjelica Huston's feature directing debut is impressive as she shows a real understanding of and compassion for her protagonist, an 11-year-old girl (Jena Malone). Called Bone, the girl was born out of wedlock to an irresponsible mother (Jennifer Jason Leigh). ... Full Review

Just when you thought you'd become inured to tales of domestic abuse, along comes Gal, a gut-wrenching story of a Charleston, S.C., girl growing up in the '60s, who suffered and survived almost unbelievable trauma. ... Full Article

Writing your life The Anderson-Foothill Library announces a family legacy writing workshop to help document your family history, develop writing skills or write your own autobiography. ... Full Article

"Understand me," writer Dorothy Allison says on her website. "What I am here for is to tell you stories you may not want to hear. ... Full Article

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. ... Full Article