The Great Gilly Hopkins

The Great Gilly Hopkins is a beautiful, touching film that should have gotten more attention. Although a wonderful family film, I would guess it will get seen most in middle school classrooms doing a study on the book, which it follows very closely. It's not without some rough edges- -there is some language and behavior that may not be to every parent's liking, but I appreciated that it made an effort to show how a real person might react in her situation. I will say the book told this story more effectively--several scenes had more impact as written, and I felt a much greater sense of urgency in the final scene of the book than I did watching the film. Even so, I think that it's a story that will hook viewers in and keep them invested right to the end. Without being manipulative or delving into false sentiment, The Great Gilly Hopkins made me care about its characters and had me choked up more than once before it was through.

This was a moving family film. I would not call it a teen movie at all. The acting is superb on all counts. The young actor who plays Gilly really makes you go from disgust to a grudging liking without changing her basic defiant and prickly personality. Although it does contain some predictible cliche's it doesn't follow a template the whole way. Octavia Spencer was wonderful in her role as the wise no-nonsense teacher. Everyone was great, but I particularly enjoyed her role. Laughter, Cheers, and Tears abound and leaves you wanting more.

Galadriel 'Gilly' Hopkins (Sophie Nélisse) is a bitter, smart foster kid. Her social worker Ellis warns her that this is her last chance before forced into a group institution. Her new foster mother Maime Trotter (Kathy Bates) is just as tough caring for troubled W.E. and blind neighbor Mr. Randolph (Bill Cobbs). Gilly gets into trouble at school right away. She rebels against her teacher Miss Harris (Octavia Spencer). Agnes is desperate to be her friend. She gets a postcard from her mother Courtney Hopkins (Julia Stiles) and dreams of reuniting with her. She writes to her grandmother Nonnie Hopkins (Glenn Close) lying about Maime Trotter in hopes of moving in with her mother in California. She even tries to run away.

There are bits and pieces of humor. There are other bits and pieces of a heartfelt touching story. The lead Sophie Nélisse is a fine young actress. It's nice to see her continue after great work as a child actress in Monsieur Lazhar. This movie is populated by great actors. There are nicely-drawn characters and then the movie hits a speed bump. It may work for the book but it doesn't necessarily work as a movie. The audience has build up capital with these characters and they need to be around visually to reap the profits. The last act is fine but it feels emotionally empty when none of the earlier characters are around.

First time seeing Sophie Nelisse, she was terrific as the star of this movie! Based on the 1978 book! It is heart touching movie that suppose to be a comedy but I find it more close to that of a drama. I give it 5 stars! Takes you back when you were a 12 year old.

Gilly Hopkins is a tough 12-year old who's been shuffled from foster home to foster home due to her troubled behavior. That is until she's taking in by kindly Kathy Bates. This story could easily have been a dull ABC After School Special type of story, but it's elevated by the presence of Bates as the tough but caring foster parent as well as a strong performance by Glenn Close as Gilly's grandmother. Another surprise was the a rather unsentimental and realistic portrayal of Gilly's addict mom by Julie Stiles. There's also strong performance by Octavia Spencer as a caring teacher who connects with Gilly by telling her she sees that she's an angry person just like her and helps her to make that anger constructive. Character actor Bill Cobbs also delivers a strong supporting performance as a blind neighbor. Admittedly, I don't think I was the target audience for this film, but I'll say my 10-year old daughter was completely wrapped up in the film, so although it may not be all that good of a film for adults, it's made watchable by some strong performances, and your pre-teen kids will probably enjoy it more than you.