by kellie abrahamson kabrahamson1@aol.com
Sherry Swanson (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is fresh out of prison and looking to start over. The transition is not easy. Stuck at a crappy halfway house in a bad neighborhood and being closely monitored by her parole officer (Giancarlo Esposito), Sherry only has her family to turn to and they aren’t sure they want anything to do with her. Sherry Swanson is damaged goods and everyone she comes in contact with knows it. So begins Sherrybaby, bleak little indie flick that is a real eye-opener, both for those who may not know how difficult it is to integrate after prison and for those who doubt the acting chops of one of the hardest working actresses in the business today. Sherrybaby is now available on DVD.
A long time heroin addict, the ex-con has been clean for over two years but discovers life on the outside is far more stressful than she imagined and isn’t sure if she can handle it clean. Her only driving force is her 6-year-old daughter Alexis (Ryan Simpkins), who has been living with her brother Bobby (Brad William Henke) and his wife Lynette (Bridget Barkan) for half of her life. Sherry immediately tries to step back into her daughter’s life but finds that her drug-addled past makes everyone in her family leery of her return to normalcy.
When not trying desperately to reconnect with her daughter, Sherry is doing everything she can to stay clean and follow the terms of her parole. Again, because of her past, Sherry faces obstacle after obstacle and soon turns to the one thing she can use to get her way: sex. Whenever possible the young woman uses sex to persuade men to give her what she wants whether it be a job working with kids or a little attention. Sherry quickly realizes that the freedom she dreamt of in jail is a completely different prison. Sherry is screwed up and she knows it. She craves attention, she wants to do drugs and she is completely helpless in this world.
Sherrybaby had a very limited release in the US, only grossing around $200,000 during its seven week run. While the film made few waves at the box office, it did pique the interest of critics and Maggie Gyllenhaal was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance. Sherrybaby in now available on DVD. The barebones release has no bonus features except for a handful of trailers at the very beginning.
Sherrybaby is an emotional rollercoaster of a film that will shock, disturb and truly move you. Here is a woman who is at the end of her rope. Her family has her child but is unwilling to hand her over, and rightly so, because of the mistakes she made in the past. She literally has no one but the system, and that’s not saying much. The story is tragic and most likely not uncommon. Sadly, this is a story that must be told and far too few people will actually see it. Sherrybaby is almost hypnotic in a way. Much like a car crash on the side of the highway, you can’t help but to stare hopelessly at the screen and hope that someone can do something to save this girl. Even though she’s completely screwed up, you see that deep down she wants to change and you can’t help but root for her despite the stupid, desperate things she does. A lot of this praise can go to writer/director Laurie Collyer, whose unflinching look at life after prison is hard to sit through yet starkly realistic, but most of it belongs to Maggie Gyllenhaal, who dares to put herself out there and inhabit this frustratingly human character. Gyllenhaal’s performance is brilliant and well deserving of the Golden Globe nomination she received. In fact, it’s sinful that she wasn’t recognized at the Oscars as well. All of the acting stands up well here. Danny Trejo, who plays a sort of sleazy friend of Sherry’s, is noteworthy here as is Giancarlo Esposito who plays the protagonist’s hard-nosed parole officer.
Sherrybaby is a terrific film that is well worth your time. This is a haunting movie that will stay with you long after you’ve turned off the TV, taken the DVD out of the player and put it back in its box. You’ll find that your mind will wander from time to time back to certain scenes and you’ll feel the same emotions you did during your first viewing. Sherrybaby is just one of those films and it’s because it’s a great film that evokes such strong emotions.
|
