Evergreen

This film attempts admirably to show the pain of adolescence, especially in a poor family. Unfortunately it lacks the quality of acting and direction to give it real impact. We are distracted by the fact that some of the characters at least don't seem real and the actors often don't seem to be "on the same page".

This viewer made the mistake of taking at face value a reviewer's rating of four stars - a reviewer I didn't even know! - and then being disappointed. My own fault!

Perhaps if I had entered the room with different expectations, or been given the realization that this movie was truly a first time effort or compromised somewhat by low budget I would have been able to be more charitable - and possibly derived more enjoyment from it. But alas the unknown reviewer gave it a glowing rating. Too bad.

Noah Fleiss ("Brick", "Things You Can Tell Just By Looking at Her") certainly saved this movie from total oblivion. Unfortunately, the movie was based on the believability of Henri (Addie Land) as a girl from a low-income family wanting a change, and the believability wasn't there. Henri seemed more like an affluent California girl pretending to be from a poor family, which was not what the director intended nor what we wanted to see. Chat (Fleiss), however, was supposed to provide us with a picture of a shallow affluent teen male, a living cliché, and that is precisely what we got -- effective and, in the final analysis, humorously absurd. Fleiss dependably surprises with the convincing quality of his roles, and this one was so well done that I rather think there might be viewers who thought Fleiss himself was shallow.

Although the remainder of the movie has little to recommend it, go into it expecting only to see a gem of a performance by Noah Fleiss and you will in no way be disappointed.

Hi

I was also at the AMC when Enid turned up, personally I really enjoyed the film, the characters and cast were good. A few of the relationships were a little weak, however it was the sudden and predictable ending which was a shame, it would have been better not to be happy ever after as life never is! … for a first time director you should watch this – for anyone to get this far and get a run on 100 odd AMC screens for an independent Enid must have put in a LOT of effort to get that far. Support Independent filmmakers!

Woody

I saw "Evergreen" at the Seattle International Film Festival in May. I especially recommend this movie to teens. They will relate to the mother/daughter relationship in this movie. I understand this is the first movie the lead actor, Addie Land, has been in. Her acting was wonderful and made the movie more special.

Addie's performance reminded me of Ashley Judd in "Ruby in Paradise". I hope we see more of her in the future. Great talent! BL SE

Addie Land captures the moments in the life of a teenage girl faced with the disparity between the realities her own family faces as working poor and the middle class prosperity of her peers. She is positioned to make decisions about what she is willing to put on the line to better her circumstances--her family--her virginity--her identity. Finally, a movie for young women with some depth. Addie plays the role of the girl, Henri, and she just adds a freshness to the film--she is a natural on screen. The film is set in the northwest--it has style. I saw the film at Sundance this year but understand it may be coming out to theaters soon. Try to check it out.