the dead girl

david and margaret reviewed it on at the movies
david seemed to like it and gave it 4 stars
margaret seemed less impressed and gave it 3 and a half
she seemed quite incoherent about it
but i decided to see for myself
the stranger is the first of five parts
starring toni collette who once again
delivers a mesmerising performance
as the long-suffering daughter of a dictatorial mother
she being the stranger who discovers the body
and then begins to discover a whole lot of other things
about herself, her mother, and those around her
there is so much emotion in this first part
by the end of it i feel like i've seen a complete film
the sister is part 2
she is played engagingly by rose byrne
also at the mercy of her mother
who refuses to believe her other long lost daughter is dead
but the sister wants to believe and move on
especially when the dead girl's body comes into the mortuary
where she is an intern
and she grasps for closure
her suffering is palpable
the wife is part 3
starring mary beth hurt
(who wikipedia tells me was married to william hurt)
as the suspicious wife of a very suspicious husband
she is on the brink
he has led her there but she's about to turn and push him off
and we are begging her to do it
he deserves it and more
the mother is part 4
played by someone quite familiar
it's all very sad
seeing this lady find out a lot of things
that death delivers up to her
and who she meets
and how she reacts
it prepares us for the final part where
the dead girl
is finally brought onto the screen
played by brittany murphy
who i don't recall seeing on screen before
but this is another amazing performance
one moment sweet, charming, lovely
the next enraged, violent and uncontrollable
she has a tough life
and a tragic death
which to my major relief
we are spared the finer details
as the credits rolled
i couldn't move
nor could a lot of people around me
there were tears
and couples hugging
and silence
even in the foyer afterwards
a day later and i'm still thinking about it
it says so much
about our so-called modern society
and how we treat each other
for that it is very revealing
and quite depressing
....but we know that anyway