THE GIRL (TVA, 2012) D: David Riker, w/ Abbie Cornish, Maritza Santiago Hernandez. Rating: NNN DVD package: none. Rating: NNN
As Ashley, protagonist of The Girl, Abbie Cornish delivers a quiet, nuanced performance that pinpoints the character’s inner conflicts and avoids the temptation to play for likeability.
Ashley is an angry, responsibility-averse, resentful, drunk single mother who’s lost her son to social services. She needs money, so after a quick cross-border jaunt with her father (another responsibility-shy drunk, splendidly played by Will Patton), she decides to smuggle some Mexicans into Texas. She bungles the job and is left with a watchful, thoughtful and possibly orphaned five-year-old (Maritza Santiago Hernandez) who refuses to be ditched and insists on Ashley’s help in finding her mother.
Writer/director David Riker has a deft way with minimal dialogue and bringing locations to life, but there’s a lack of drama and a faint whiff of cheese to the too-easy redemptive ending.
For a more complex and better developed look at a very similar subject, check out Frozen River, which pulled Oscar nominations for the script and Melissa Leo in the lead.
EXTRAS English, French, Spanish audio. English subtitles.