American Woman

"American Woman" is one film that is well done it's a moving touching type picture of life and how with love and family one can get thru struggle and pain. It proves that life is up and down with emotions that come from tragedy and loss as thru change closure is finally found. The movie showcases all of these themes so well! Set in rural and blue collar Pennsylvania Debra(in a raw and gritty performance from Sienna Miller) is a single and bed hopping mother who has her world shattered one day after her daughter goes missing as now she has to raise her grandson alone. The movie spans thru her life for 11 years as it's really a roller coaster of highs and lows the pain and drama becomes daily trials of life for Deb. It all ranges from anger and hope the movie makes you really feel like you are going thru life too just like that of Deb's character as we all remember the hardships of life and it's pain. Overall good emotional drama of life and how change happens and spans thru the years before closure.

So if you like fast paced action, don't bother. If you like sublimely acted, well paced, brilliant character development, please give this a watch. This isn't a film about a mother trying to find her daughter, this is about an incredible journey of one woman and watching Sienna Miller's character develop over the course of this film is breathtaking. I cried. A lot. And I rarely, rarely cry watching films. There is something incredibly authentic about this film that draws you in and leaves you feeling as if you were some way involved in the lives of these characters. Bravo

"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.

I would rate this 8.0/10. An excellent film that had me engaged from start to finish. Sienna Miller played her character to perfection. Her best performance so far, hands down. Some may find this film lacks any real momentum or story. On the contrary, it is packed full of it. Utterly compelling & believable, you feel as if you are living and breathing every scene. Few films have had this effect on me.