MOVIE · 2002

White Oleander

Drama109 min

After her mother is sent to prison, teenager Astrid Magnussen is pushed into a string of Los Angeles foster homes, each one forcing her to read a new set of rules and hazards. She grows up fast as she moves between unstable adults, shifting loyalties, and households where neglect, jealousy, and need shape daily life. Through it all, her bond with her mother Ingrid remains the deepest complication: even from prison, Ingrid pulls at Astrid’s choices and sense of self. Alison Lohman centers Astrid’s uneasy search for independence, while Michelle Pfeiffer gives Ingrid a cold, magnetic hold over the story.