Stephanie Daley

I have no idea why this film, or many of the other Sundance films for that matter, are rated so low on IMDb. It's a shame, because this is a remarkable film.

Amber Tamblyn gives the best performance of her career and deserves an Oscar for her subtle, eerie picture of teenage confusion, fear and malice. Tilda Swinton is also very good as the detective investigating Daley's case, and both Melissa Leo and Timothy Hutton give solid backup.

See this movie - it is a frightening and eye-opening portrait of real life. ****/*****

I am not the type of guy that watches often movies about abortion or sexual issues but when I watch them from time to time, it's for the actors. So keep this in mind as you read my review for this.

When the movie begins Stephanie Daley (Amber Tamblyn) is attending a school-organized field trip and suddenly she falls on the ground bleeding. After the recovery the medics discover that she was pregnant and find the baby dead with toilet paper stuffed in his mouth. So Stephanie is accused of child murder but instead of jail time the police give psychologist Lydie Crane (Tilda Swinton) the task of finding out why Stephanie did that act while at the same time deals with her husband Paul (Timothy Hutton) who seems to have lost interest in her.

I liked the acting, especially the performances by Swinton and Hutton. But the main problem for me is that it wasn't exactly subtle and considering this is a movie about abortion, the more the subject was handled better the better would have been because some scenes of Stephanie having healt issues or burst into tears with sad music in the background were jarring to watch. As it is, it's ok but nothing more.

I do have somewhat of a problem with the time device used in the film, the frame narrative that I'm not quite sure works to such extent. I think by just allowing the narrative to go through without resorting to "going back in time" would've made for a much more effective ride. As it is, the film is rather good. Amber Tamblyn and the goddess Tilda Swinton give some strong work here, and both give their characters their much required pathos for which to fully function within the film's structure better. Both are great performances that deserved a lot more attention, but alas, it's good that I sought it out. I definitely recommend this flawed, but strong piece of work.

In "Stephanie Daley," Tilda Swinton stars as Lydie Crane, a forensic psychologist in her final months of pregnancy. Despite her condition and the fact that she had a miscarriage less than a year earlier, Lydie agrees to take on the case of a teenaged girl named Stephanie Daley (Amber Tamblyn) who is accused of killing her newborn at childbirth.

Written and directed by Hilary Brougher, "Stephanie Daley" is a human drama wrapped inside a legal whodunit (it's sort of like "Agnes of God" minus the nuns' habits and beatific visions). Set in scenic Upstate New York, the movie explores the anxieties and fears that many women face before, during and after pregnancy. Lydie's situation very much parallels Stephanie's at times, resulting in a strange symbiotic relationship between the two women. Those parallels aren't always as clearly drawn as they might be, but the positive result is that the story is made less obvious and more intriguing by the ambiguity.

"Stephanie Daley" is a low-keyed, thoughtful work that doesn't go in for flashy melodrama or thematic overstatement. It allows its narrative to unfold slowly, finding much of its drama in the minutiae of everyday life in the small town in which it is set.

The movie is blessed with sensitive, subtle work from not only Swinton and Tamblyn but a large cast of secondary performers, including Timothy Hutton, Kel O'Neill, Denis O'Hare, and others. The relationships in the movie are intricate and complex, and the plot doesn't seek out a preset path or formula to follow. It's not a movie designed to appeal to mainstream audiences much, but for those who prefer their films to wander a bit off the well-beaten path, "Stephanie Daley" offers substantial rewards.

It's funny, at the average video store, it's really a hit or miss game - you can't tell anything by the cover art. Picking up random titles is something of a habit, some hit, most miss, and with some you really have to wonder if the people who released the film have actually watched it. Every so often, however, you get a very pleasant surprise, and Stephanie Daley is one of the reasons I love the movies.

Hilary Brougher is an extraordinary talent, and experiencing the performances by some of the finest actors working today was inspiring.

Spending an evening with this film was a breath of fresh air and a treat - thank you!