Sherrybaby

The focal point of writer/director Laurie Collyer’s film Sherrybaby is the performance by the recently ubiquitous Maggie Gyllenhaal as Sherry, a former addict recently released from prison who is trying to get her life on track. It seems that every year we get a film of this kind, a loosely plotted narrative given depth by the devastating work of an acclaimed leading lady. Last year we had Felicity Huffman in Transamerica, and before that Charlize Theron in Monster. This sort of film demands an extraordinary actress to carry the material as the performance is key to getting the audience interested enough to observe the central character for the duration of the film. This is most definitely a film about observation. There is no clear direction for the film to take as its main priority is watching Sherry closely as she confronts irresolvable emotional duress that will most likely haunt her well beyond the end of the film.

What’s important to a film like this is giving the audience a glimpse into the life of a broken soul. It looks unflinchingly at the behavior of Sherry, a character with such piercing sincerity that every bad decision she makes stings. She's a girl who's been avoiding adulthood and turning every situation into an instance to reuse the girlish charms that once worked on her father (for various and disturbing reasons). She’s a perversely innocent woman whose journey toward adulthood has been stunted by a lifetime of unfortunate experiences.

The movie drags in parts, but watching Sherry unravel slowly and finally grow up a bit is a fascinating and emotional experience.

Grade: B+