In Los Angeles, a story about a dead girl, told in five interlaced chapters. The clues to the young woman's death come together as the lives of seemingly unrelated people begin to intersect.
There's not a laugh to be had, but the humanist Moncrieff is grabbing for your heart, rarely showing violence but letting the potential of it seep in from every corner, making fear itself the uncredited star.
Those who pass on The Dead Girl are missing something. Moncrieff has assembled a remarkable (and mostly female) cast, and there are moments in this film that are as powerful as anything currently in theaters.
The masterful film, which was also released on DVD this week, sends shivers up your spine and devastates you five times over, then has you longing to wipe the sweat off your brow and start watching all over again.
It must be said that The Dead Girl is a film of considerable integrity. But before that, something else must be said: That's about as unappetizing an opening to a film as can be imagined.
Murphy, devouring a bad girl role to go with her image, makes her the most alive person in what is most certainly not your typical Hollywood serial killer movie.
Urban Cinefile
June 15, 2007
Intriguing and unpredictable, this multi-layered film delivers a profound ripple effect as it explores the complexities of anger, grief, denial and retribution
