Angela (1995)

Very artistic

This movie, I think, is well done. If you like the artistic form of the young female body, you will love this movie. The scenes of the little girls were done very tastefully. I have always enjoyed viewing the female body in its purest form. It is a beautiful creation that many people, especially men, take for granted. There is nothing sexual or arousing about any of the scenes and they are done in the most prestigious of settings. Very well constructed.

The plot is a great one. The only problem I had with this movie is when the girls were in "the big nothing," the story started to bcome like choppy sentences. The scenes changed to quickly and Angela was getting too many signs. I think that this part was a little overdone. The ending, although very dramatic and appropriate for the movie, could have been laid out better. It left me with a sense of incompleteness. Other than that, the movie was excellent and a masterpiece in my eyes. Well done! April 27, 2008

finese and art, altogether

once again. the movie is a little roughly crafted. There are a few scenes in which you can see the boom mike. or equipment. but the story, the acting and most of the photography is superb. The story reaches deep into the mind and the sweet-and-sour realism is the climax of art. The child actors, specially miranda stawrt rhine are in a word, sublime. there are some brief scenes of nudity so a little parental guidance. They are inocent and natural so no obsenity or adult situations are present. (that I can remember) the scenes are a family swimming in a river and are all conveyed very inocently and freshly, evoking the sense of being a child and with your family. Exelent movie. February 28, 2008

The Devil & Ms. Miller

"Angela" was not your average film. It was a strong opening from Rebecca Miller, the spawn of playwright Arthur Miller and film vixen Marilyn Monroe, but where it suffered was that it felt too amateurish. Without biting my tongue "Angela" began impressively, strong opening with a family's move to a new home. The defined mother/father characters (albeit eerily similar references to Marilyn Monroe), two strong girl leads that seem to have genuine chemistry together, and an undefined era which allowed my imagination to flourish and ponder ignited "Angela" immediately. It was when the film moved into its second and third act, where it became alarmingly obvious that Miller was loosing her grasp on not just the film crew, but also the convoluted story itself. Visions of Lucifer, the Virgin Mary, a diluted neighbor, and the big elephant in the room - religion - seem to take priority over such important elements like character development, questionable motive, and family dynamics. Miller places so much focus on these symbolic references that this quality film begins to slip through her fingers. By the second act, where the two daughters embark on their own journey through this unknown town, which again is bombarded with referenced evils and unknown symbolism, that reality gets surpassed by a director who would rather shock than impress. The entire scene with the possible pedophile could have been an intense and memorable scene, but instead it falls short, because Miller is so focused on getting us to Lucifer that we only recognize this scene as a small blip on the radar. Again, I don't want to sound pessimistic about this film, Miller began with such a strong eye that I thought this was going to be an instant classic, but by the dull ending, "Angela" is so muddled that empathy towards the characters becomes greater than excitement for the film.

While our characters constantly have to play second fiddle to the symbolic religious references throughout the film, I must admit that they were eerie and interesting throughout bits and segments. Miller had a strong cast, a father who gave up everything for his family, a mother lost in her head (especially well played), and two daughters searching for meaning was an amazing dynamic - poorly defined - but amazing all the same. What I had hoped Miller would do was make these four characters the central focus of the story, but alas, it doesn't happen. The struggle between father/mother again are second to the religious symbolism, thus we lack the apparent emotion towards them. When all of these characters get to their final moments, we just don't care any further. We have given up. A scene was needed where the family reunites over a crisis that nearly tore them apart - cliché? - I believe it would have strengthened the characters and transformed this film from a simply symbolic picture into a family drama. While "Angela" was the obvious lead character, all of these in the immediate family were worthy (and powerful) enough to watch equally. They all carried their weight well, one just wishes we could have spent more time with them.

Finally, an issue needs to be addressed with this film that was neither mentioned in the audio commentary nor in many posts about this film, but when a director cannot clean up or recognize that a boom mic has made it into at least five scenes (extremely apparent) than something is wrong. One cannot say that this film is superb with technical failures happening all over the place. This is your blood and soul when you create a film; why not present it like it was a wrapped Christmas gift, not like it was just found in the sandbox? That small issue really lowered the standard for this film, making it just another amateurish independent film created by someone who carries a famous last name.

Overall, I wanted to like "Angela", I wanted to sit here and say that I was impressed with Miller's first outing, but alas, I wasn't. It was such a powerful opening, but it floundered so quickly. Miller's focus on the religious element, while defining for Angela, deeply ruined the rest of the characters. The family became a shadow, with no real emotion surrounding them, but instead reacting to the beliefs of Angela. I was drawn into Angela's mother's story, but received no gratification or explanation. I loved her father's desire to be a good dad, but again, sitting in a circle or becoming baptized was more important. I was misled by the goals, and consequently missed the "why" and "how" for the final act. Coupled with the laughable errors by the crew (this should have been an introduction to the first day of using a boom mic), "Angela" just fell through the cracks. It perhaps was the obvious borrow from "Gummo" or just the drowning of symbolism, but "Angela" will remain - for me - another independent film trying to make its mark. I am eager to see "Personal Velocity" if only to observe if Miller successfully saw the errors and made the corrections. "Angela" was a first draft film, with much needed corrections and red markings in the margins.

Grade: ** out of ***** January 10, 2008

A Child's View of a Parent's Mental Illness

There are two issues in this movie. The first is of a couple of little girls growing up with a mentally ill mother. Angela, in her immaturity, feels at least a bit responsible for her mother's situation. She wants to be especially good, feeling that it is her 'badness' that keeps her mother sick. This is very common. One girl our family has grown to love as one of our own daughters understood that it was after her mother got pregnant with her the schizophrenia manifested itself in her mother. So, when she was little, she felt she caused it to happen.

Angela has some idea of God and satan, Heaven and hell, but it is as a ten-year-old might have understood it. It would have been nice to see where she had gotten such ideas. Still, Angela wants very much to be a good person, and keep her little sister, Ellie, good. However, she is still a little girl. Parents could show this film to their own children, watching together, and use it to discuss the family beliefs regarding these topics. It is a movie one won't soon forget, and one that will leave you thinking about it for some time after seeing it.

This is a very intense movie (and there is one rather explicit sex scene). Still, my nine-year-old granddaughter handled it very well (we fast-forwarded through the short sex scene). I presented the story to her as one example of what might cause some kids to act in ways that her 'in group' does not think is 'cool.' We had a good discussion about how she should treat such kids because the ones she may meet might be going through the same type of thing, though the specifics may be different, as Angela in their home. If a parent knows their child is dealing with such a friend, this movie would be a great way to help them open up about how they feel about the 'strange' kid, and for parents to teach understanding and even compassion for him or her. This is a very penetrating movie. January 3, 2008

A dark odyssey of a tween's quest toward's self enlightment

This is a provocative and rare example of when American goth art combines with American cinematic genius. Fans of David Hamilton may especially apperciate the artistic visuals of the young star, Angela, and her younger sister.
This film requires an open mind and one who apperciates all colors of art from darkness to light.
It brings you through the very real private journeys and experences of a young girl becoming a young woman. As with most girls at the character's age, Angela becomes isolated from her family and friends in order to find the answers to her inner questions on her own.
Many of the scenes are somber and distubring but beautiful.
The plot, in short, is about a eleven or twelve year old girl named Angela living with her sister and Mother in rural America. Throughout the film, she is engrossed in her own journey to discover how she might gurantee her place in Heaven someday. The more she searches the more obsessed this quest becomes. She soon finds herself in a world of angels and demons fighting for her soul.
Meanwhile, her Mothers becomes mentally ill. This too becomes a part of Angela's quest for understanding and finding her salvation. All the while, her young sister, five or so, stays timidly at her side, quietly attempting to make sense of her family's challenges and sister's fasination with another world.
The film invites you into the dark place that exists in every young woman's search for idenity and place. December 14, 2007

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