Uma Mulher Americana

Gripping performance by Sienna Miller as a smalltown young mother / grandmother, coping with the mysterious disappearance of her teenage daughter and left to raise her grandson on her own. The film spans over many years and exhibits interesting character growth as life goes on. Christina Hendricks also delivers an excellent performance as her next-door sister, as well as the rest of the family. It's been awhile since I've seen a good drama and American Woman has delivered the goods. Best film I've seen in the Toronto Film Festival so far.

It's too seldom that we get to see small, character driven films on the big screen, and I'm sad that this film is showing on so few screens in my area. All of the performances were excellent and it was nice to see so many underused actresses in this film. Seinna Miller was wonderful, as were Amy Madigan and Christina Hendricks. I loved the story and being given the time to watch the main character change and grow. Please see this excellent film.

"American Woman" is one of those movies that seems obsessed with making middle America look like the most depressing place on the planet. The filmmakers must have been in a bad mood and looking to take it out on somebody, so they chose to do so by heaping crisis after crisis on top of their heroine, a troubled wild child of a woman played by Sienna Miller. The film follows her trajectory from single mom of a teenage girl in the 1980s, to 40-ish single woman raising her teenage grandson. In between, she suffers the disappearance of her daughter, a couple of lousy men, and a contentious relationship with her mom (Amy Madigan) and sister (Christina Hendricks). She's a total pain in the butt and annoying as hell at times. Some of the things that happen to her are out of her control, but much of what happens to her is the result of her own terrible decisions. So why should we care?

Because she's played by Sienna Miller, giving one of the most underrated performances of the year. I always find myself saying that I don't have to like characters in a movie or book in order to enjoy it, but I do have to find them compelling enough to spend time with, and this movie is a good example of that. I don't know that I ever liked Miller's character exactly (I certainly wouldn't want to spend much time with her), but I did warm to her tremendously and found myself feeling compassionately toward her, and that's entirely due to Miller's fierce performance. There are a couple of gems to be found in the supporting performances as well, notably those of Hendricks and Madigan. Aaron Paul pops up half way through the film as one of Miller's guys, and he's decent, but why he decides to talk like Christian Bale in "Batman" I couldn't ever quite figure out.

Grade: A

Not many movies get me to cry but this one, surprisingly, moved me and resonated within me. I think many women will connect with the characters that are superbly acted. No matter what your hardships and tragedies are in this life, we are all "American women" trying to do our best and love others to the best of our ability. It will hopefully connect to your soul in the way it did mine. Humbly we all must remember, we never know what is going on in the lives of others and building other women up is a message that this movie truly represents and reawakened for me and hopefully it will for others too. It is a far cry from a lifetime-type-movie. Not that those are bad but by some of the reviews and descriptions I want to make certain it is not misconstrued. The acting is stellar the metaphors and irony are woven together deeply and beautifully.

Coming fom the writer of Out Of The Furnace and the producers of Manchester By The Sea, this portrait of a blue-collar Pennsylvania woman wasn't going to be champagne and roses. While those films boasted well-rounded female characters, they played second fiddle. Here, Sienna Miller's Deb is the main attraction - in all her contradictory, pedestrian glory. Following Deb from 32 (a hot mess grandma) to 40 (taking control of her life), American Woman builds a rich picture of a flawed, recognisable female character. Deb dates unsuitable men while living with her teen-mum daughter, Bridget (Sky Ferreira), and baby grandson, Jesse. Her sister, Katherine (Christina Hendricks), helps when things go wrong - and they go horrifically wrong when Bridget disappears. But Bridget's absence is almost happenstance to Deb's tale of survival, as she weathers an abusive relationship to ensure Jesse has a home. It takes years for her to feel worthy of a decent partner. Maybe Aaron Paul's brickie is the one... You'll guess the outcomes, but what works is the slow-burn combo of convincing dialogue and Miller's unvarnished turn. She should be in the awards conversation - but the performances outstrip the film, so American Woman may not sufficiently linger in audiences' imaginations.