Blue Car

R

Released May 2, 2003

1h 36m

Drama

List

81%

89 Reviews

Tomatometer

65%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

Meg is a gifted but emotionally scarred 18-year-old. Meg finds solace in writing poetry. Mr. Auster, her English teacher, recognizes her talent and steps into the role of mentor and father figure, encouraging her to enter a national poetry contest for which he is a judge. As tension at home escalates and Meg struggles to find a way to get to the poetry finals in Florida, Auster's role in her life becomes increasingly complex.

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Critics Consensus

A cautionary tale that rings true.

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Audience Member

just ok coming of age tale

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

Frances H

Well acted and well made drama about a teen in crisis. What I found unforgivable was the betrayal of trust on the part of the teacher in the story--an adult, no matter how unhappy his life, only commits this kind act out of pure selfishness and to do such a thing to a girl he knows has been through hell is inexcusable. Everyone involved betrays their responsibility to this girl, and no one tries to get her the help she needs.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/09/13

Full Review

dave j

Tuesday, June 18, 2013 (2002) Blue Car DRAMA Written and directed by Karen Moncrieff, starring Agnes Bruckner as Megan, an aspiring student who is influenced by her teacher(David Strathairn) to enter herself in a "poetry contest" for a chance to get some sponsorship money while at the same time coping with her troubled sister and her bitter divorced mother after their father had left them. It's called "Blue Car" because it was a name she had called her poem she had written and then entered into the contest which the last thing she had remembered after her dad left for he was driving a blue colored car. Now, while I love the beginning, the film felt more bleak as the story continues. the premise is a hard one to accept whereas after the father had left, it not only affected the two sisters severely but it had also left the mother to become extremely bitter toward her ex-husband leaving viewers totally in the dark about it's circumstances except that it's somehow expressed through a poem, and it still doesn't explain anything. I also thought the bond between the two sisters isn't genuine enough and that the movie could've dwelled on that relationship even more since it almost seemed so artificial from the viewers standpoint. Character development among it's central characters seems to be something that is making it much harder to like this film for any reason whatsoever despite great performances by it's leads. 2 out of 4 stars

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Brilliant pairing of Agnes Bruckner and David Strathairn in this disturbing tale. The way it explores vulnerability and motivation was impressive and I'll be looking for other films where the director, Karen Moncrieff has been involved.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A slow paced, beautiful and melancholic film that touched a nerve. Great performance from Agnes Bruckner. Amazing film considering it is writer/director Karen Moncrieff's film debut and was edited on an apple computer. Stunning.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Gripping, raw, dramatic, real, sad, but not too melodramatic. Everything an indie drama should be.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

Full Review

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Karen Moncrieff

Director

David Strathairn

Auster

Agnes Bruckner

Meg

Margaret Colin

Diane

Frances Fisher

Delia

A.J. Buckley

Pat

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David Ansen

Newsweek

There's nothing flashy about Moncrieff's filmmaking, and there doesn't need to be: from the start, she gets the emotional details right, and the viewer feels intimately engaged with the young protagonist. It's a powerful, fresh, honest debut.

Mar 7, 2018

Full Review

Bill Muller

Arizona Republic

Worth watching for the coming-out party of Agnes Bruckner, a relative newcomer who shows her mettle with an extraordinary performance in this very ordinary tear-jerker.

Rated: 3/5

Jun 12, 2003

Full Review

Andrew Sarris

Observer

An impressive first effort from Ms. Moncrieff, but the eternal Aristotelian in me finds it depressing to watch characters always walking around in moral quicksand.

Jun 11, 2003

Full Review

David Walsh

World Socialist Web Site

Margaret Colin is excellent as the harried mother, making desperate and perhaps humiliating efforts to win promotion, unable to pay sufficient attention to her two daughters, alternately angry and tender.

Feb 16, 2021

Full Review

Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

One of the more stunning films I've seen on the subject of sexual abuse and family dynamics.

Rated: 3.5/4.0

Sep 3, 2020

Full Review

Film Threat

Rated: 2.5/5

Dec 6, 2005

Full Review

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Synopsis

Meg is a gifted but emotionally scarred 18-year-old. Meg finds solace in writing poetry. Mr. Auster, her English teacher, recognizes her talent and steps into the role of mentor and father figure, encouraging her to enter a national poetry contest for which he is a judge. As tension at home escalates and Meg struggles to find a way to get to the poetry finals in Florida, Auster's role in her life becomes increasingly complex.

Director: Karen Moncrieff
Screenwriter: Karen Moncrieff
Distributor: Miramax Films
Production Co: Miramax
Rating: R (Sexual Content|Language)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 2, 2003, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 23, 2020
Box Office (Gross USA): $464.1K
Runtime: 1h 36m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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