Plot
A young suicidal and rebellious teen gets sent to her Grandparents for the summer where life takes an unexpected turn.
Release Year: 2009
Rating: 6.3/10 (3,537 voted)
Director:
Nancy Bardawil
Stars: Hilary Duff, Evan Ross, Michael Murphy
Storyline After her mother, Karen (Melissa Leo) gets married for the third time, 17-year-old Greta (Hillary Duff), who had witnessed her father kill himself, withdraws within herself, and turns rebellious. In lieu of boot camp she is sent to live with her maternal grandparents, Katherine (Ellen Burstyn) and Joseph (Michael Murphy) where she makes it known that she is determined to kill herself. She then falls for a cook, Julie (Evan Ross) at the local restaurant, much to the chagrin of her grandparents - especially when they find out he had been interned in a juvenile correctional facility. Faced with all-round opposition and unhappy with her life Greta plans her suicide during a boating trip - a plan that will not only expose closeted skeletons, but also shatter and change everyone's lives forever.
Cast: Hilary Duff
-
Greta
Evan Ross
-
Julie
Michael Murphy
-
Joseph
Ellen Burstyn
-
Katherine
Melissa Leo
-
Karen
Maury Ginsberg
-
Lou
John Rothman
-
Edgar
Sylvia Kauders
-
Mrs. Wocheski
Oren Skoog
-
Steve
Dave Shalansky
-
Cable Guy
Vivan Dugré
-
Donna
Gary Mottola
-
Red Tie Bar Guy
Stuart Zagnit
-
Man on Bus
Edward Lane
-
Old Man
(as Ed Lane)
Eric Sheffer Stevens
-
Yellow Sweater Guy
Trivia:
The photograph of Greta's father is John Heard, Melissa Leo's then real-life boyfriend who fathered her son John Matthew Heard.
Quotes: Julie:
You know, you can't control every damn thing that happens in your life.
User Review
Like no other (No Spoilers)
Rating: 9/10
I will not go into the plot of the movie too much as I believe you can
look elsewhere for that information.
I will start by telling you that if you are expecting the typical
Hilary Duff flick, you will be either very disappointed or pleasantly
surprised. This is her most serious role to date and excludes the
fluffy elements and leaves you with a Character who most viewers can
empathise with as a lot of us have at one point in our lives held an
extremely cynical and fearful view on life and growing older, even if
we haven't come from dysfunctional families and experienced such
difficulties as the character 'Greta'.
Hilary Duff narrates the movie in a way, through talking to the viewer
and writing in her diary. I have always favoured films that are
narrated by a character as you become more involved with the story and
without Greta telling us what she is thinking and how she feels we
could not empathise with her half as much.
The soundtrack is amazing and captures every moment perfectly. My
advice is to watch this film at night when you're feeling mellow and
reflective, it will in no doubt drift you off into a bittersweet
melancholy. It is artistic, gripping and is free of dull time-filling
moments that have no relevance to the story or characters that are
being portrayed.
I have not been able to stop thinking about the characters, the quotes,
the music, the meaning behind everything Greta is saying. A truly
amazing piece of work. 9 out of 10, for its genre in my opinion, this
comes close to perfection.
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