SHERRYBABY

US, 2006, 96 minutes, Colour.
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Giancarlo Esposito, Sam Bottoms, Danny Trejo, Kate Burton, Brad William Henke, Bridget Barkan, Ryan Simkins.
Directed by Laurie Collyer.

A small independent film, a brief slice of life. While it is a common and familiar story, it is acted and presented with thought and care, a stimulus for audiences to respond to and think about the characters, their hopes and their disappointments.

Basically it is a story of a 16 year old who got hooked on drugs, became pregnant, stole and finished up serving some years in jail. Now she is out, is clean (despite her cravings), has to find a place to live, get a job (especially with children with whom she works well), re-establish her relationship with her daughter who is being raised by her brother and his wife and who have become the parent figures for the little girl. She is also under the strict and fairly unsympathetic supervision of her patrol officer.

It all plays out much as you would expect. She takes up with a reformed addict whom she meets at a 12 Step meeting. Her brother wants to do the right thing but will not step in to save her if she goes back on the drugs. Her sister-in-law is sometimes helpful but has become rather possessive about the little girl. The daughter herself does not always warm to her mother.

What makes the film better than others is the effective plainness of the plot and the writing. The screenplay is well served by the cast, led by Maggie Gyllenhaal as the Sherry of the title. She won a Golden Globe nomination for this performance.

Nothing new, nor anything conclusive. Rather, a small case study presented in ordinary and humane terms.

1.The impact of the film? Portrait of a young woman? Slice of life? Social problems? Personal, family and relationship problems?

2.The authentic New Jersey, the streets, the bus, homes, schools? Musical score?

3.The opening and closing songs and their lyrics? ‘Some kind of heaven …’? ‘A meaning to my life?’

4.The title, the focus on Sherry, the quality of Maggie Gyllenhaal’s performance? The attention to detail? The complete character? On screen in every sequence?

5.The emerging back-story, home life, the absent mother, her fondness for her brother, her father, the sexual background, abuse (and his fondling her at the party)? Aged sixteen, dancing at the club, the drugs, pregnant, the baby, going to jail, not caring, no visits, on parole, doing courses in jail, the role of the bible? The group for the Drugs Anonymous?

6.The portrait of a young woman, an American woman of the 90s, family, pregnancy, child, drugs, prison, tough, self-pitying, immature and adolescent, gratification, love, learning? Sex and men, as a weapon for persuasion? Going to the group meetings? Her friends, sharing? The family and the bonds, the tension? Her skill in teaching young children? Depression, going back to the drugs, wanting to be clean, drinking? The interactions with the parole officer? Her final questions after she took Lexie for the outing? Her dilemma, her final decision, entrusting Lexie to her brother? The asking of the question for him to look after the daughter? The detox, the future?

7.The portrait of the parole officer, tough, demanding, immune to seduction, the supervision, going to her apartment, reading her correctly, making no concessions? Tough, the finale, the strict decision?

8.The hostel, the women, friendly, hostile, the room, her cleaning it, settling in, phone calls, going to the drugs meeting, Andrew and the sexual encounter, going for the job and offering the sex to the supervisor? Meeting with Dean? The relationship, sexuality, friendship? Acceptance? Their discussions, his driving her to the party, lending her the car? Her capacity for making friends?

9.The sequence of the teaching, the song with the children, ‘Happiness’? Singing it with Lexie in the car?

10.Bobby, the bond with him, the phone calls, the visit, meeting Lynette, the tension with her, her being a mother to Lexie, protective? Bringing the gifts? Lexie and her calling her mother Sherry, calling her Mummy? The interactions, the party, their not telling Sherry where the party was, arriving late, the presents, the gifts, Lexie and her tantrum? Her father? Bobby watching? Taking her out, pleading with Bobby? The experience of the day out, the meal, the accident? Lynette and her worries?

11.The outing, driving, the difficulty of taking her away, Lexie not wanting to go, scared, mellowing, singing the song, the junk food meal, wetting her pants, Sherry telling off the brutal woman with her child, the changing, returning late? The talk about Florida, taking her across the state line? The possibility of escaping to Florida?

12.The final talk with Bobby, the request? Some kind of maturity and self-awareness?

13.How well did the film track her journey, the facts, the possibilities for Sherry? Her future relationship with her daughter?