MovieChat Forums > White Bird in a Blizzard (2014) Discussion > Not good, not awful

Not good, not awful

posted 11 years ago by curious_chaos
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I saw this 2 nights ago at its premier at the Sundance Film Festival. I've had time to think about what I saw and I'm afraid I was disappointed with this film.

Certain parts were great (the ending is completely unexpected and drew an audible gasp from the audience) and the dream elements were nice once it all made sense, but overall, White Bird in a Blizzard was not very good :( The acting was so/so at best and the story didn't seem purposeful. The direction was messy. But my problem was the characters. Nobody was very likable. And that was my problem.

Shailene Woodley's character was so... Unfeeling. Very non-understanding or sympathetic. I think it had more to do with the writing than her acting but it bothered me at how horribly she treated everyone. And Chris Meloni's character just stood there like a lug (I chalk that up to script too). Eva Green (whom I love) was the biggest disappointment for me though. Her character had a lot of potential but her acting was simply not very good :(

I wanted to like this very much but it just didn't do it for me. Which made me sad. What did you guys think? Am I too critical or was this a dud?

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[–] 11 years ago

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[–] curious_chaos 11 years ago

No, I haven't seen any of Gregg Araki's other films but Mysterious Skin has been on my to-watch list for a long time. What do you think his best film is?

It honestly wasn't terrible but it wasn't nearly as good as I'd hoped it would be.

I try to judge movies fairly and be as nice as possible so thank you for that :)

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[–] scorp-945-748744 11 years ago

Any nudity from Shailene?

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[–] curious_chaos 11 years ago

Yes! I recall 3 scenes where she shows her boobs. I was not expecting her to bare herself as much as she did.

Interestingly enough, at the premiere, I was lucky enough to sit in back and about 20 feet to the left of Shailene and during her nude scenes, I watched her, watching herself naked on screen. It was a bizarrely surreal thing to experience! Hahahah She covered her eyes and kind of shook her head. Too funny.

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[–] 11 years ago

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[–] curious_chaos 11 years ago

No worries. Thanks for answering my question! I've sat through some extremely graphic movies so I'm fairly certain I should be able to watch it. I'm a fan of all things dark and disturbing :) It looks really good. Joseph Gordon Levitt looks like he's got an interesting role in this movie. And I'm a big big fan of Brady Corbet. I hope I like it! I'm going to try to watch it soon.

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[–] curious_chaos 11 years ago

I'll also add Doom Generation to my list. It looks like it's worth a watch! Thanks for the conversation and recommendation!

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[–] 11 years ago

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[–] LifesWonderful 11 years ago

The ending was so unexpected especially since, from what I recall, there were no clues hinting about that.

I thought Eva Green was fantastic. Her laugh at the end, just brilliant. Shailene was good, but I didn't buy her as this rebel chick.

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[–] curious_chaos 11 years ago

I really liked the ending. It was such a good way to end things. I just wish the rest of the film had been as good. Hahahah that sounds so weird to say! Usually it's the other way around!

I also agree that Eva Green's laugh was great. That was the highlight of her character.

Shailene was miscast. Who else they should have or could have used, I don't know. But she didn't feel right in that role. Maybe it's because I watched her in The Spectacular Now earlier that day which is such a drastic opposite from her character in WBIAB. Hahahah

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[–] ave_smartguy_87 11 years ago

OP, I just wanted to know how Gabby Sidibe and Jacob Artist were in the movie. I am a fan of Shailene from her past movies so I just wanted to know how you think they did with their roles.

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[–] curious_chaos 11 years ago

Jacob Artist had one scene and I suppose he was fine-- I'm not terribly familiar with him or his work but I didn't think he did a bad job here. He wasn't memorable if that answers your question.

Gabourey Sidibe... sigh... I'm going to be honest and say what I think. I think Gabby Sidibe is a darling and lovable woman and she gave an amazing performance in Precious, but I think she is a rather poor actress in everything else. I have not been impressed. Maybe it's just me. I love her as her though. She's got a wonderful personality and is very genuine and I do like her. But her acting leaves a lot to be desired. She wasn't awful but she was not very good either.

The actor who played the gay friend was insultingly bad though. (Not sure of his name) I literally don't know how he got a role in a movie because he was almost painful to watch. Terrible acting at its worst. Truly I mean no offense to him personally but his acting was so bad that I couldn't not say something. I feel like his character was written about as typical cliche gay guy as it gets and it was annoying that he was so one dimensional.

Sorry for the rant :) Once I start going off I don't stop! hahahah I hope I answered your question.

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[–] DCI77 11 years ago

I have a feeling Sidibe is only getting parts because of Precious and not because anyone in the casting process actually thinks she's right for the part. But, that's what happens when it comes to casting with working actors - most of the time the cast is pick by recommendations, type, and "Did you see her/him in that one movie where she/he played a similar role?" It's just really lazy casting.

2014: Whiplash, Cold in July, that Terrence Malick project set in Austin, Foxcatcher

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[–] curious_chaos 11 years ago

I would agree with everything you said. She was incredible in Precious but I think that perfectly cast and she had really good direction. Everything else I've seen her in has not come even remotely close to what she gave in Precious. Which really is too bad. Because I like her a lot. Just not her acting.

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[–] altimitcc 11 years ago

i love all his movies so far, my favorite is Mysterious Skin , and KaBOOM , i hope we will have the depth and drama of the first one, or the crazyness of the second one i mentioned above.
really impatient to watch it.

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[–] ezra-lacroix 11 years ago

I am a HUGE Eva Green fan!! as well as loving Gregg Araki(The Doom Generation and Mysterious Skin are formative films for me haha). I am looking forward to this film like no other this year. And the soundtrack!!!

Anyone else seen a cut yet?

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[–] alfredpolanski81 11 years ago

White bird is good. Not his best and not his worst. For me, Araki's best works are Mysterious Skin, The Living End and Doom Generation. ;)

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[–] scoup 10 years ago

I had the same problem with the characters. Good or bad, I really did not care about any of them. The daughter seemed to have some mental health issue but the movie either didn't grasp it or it was just poor acting. Disappointing movie.

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[–] leanne-kershaw1 10 years ago

I really liked this film, but I think think the characters Phil and Beth seemed a bit miscast to me. I would of liked to see more of Oliver, I don't think Kat ad a mental health problem.

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[–] Rad_Robot_V 10 years ago

Interesting how people dislike books/films due to unlikable characters. 

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