Sherrybaby

Have you ever seen a woman in short shorts and a tight top from a distance and think "Wow, she's hot" and then see her at a closer range and find the flash of skin and makeup is meant to hide someone visibly hardened by a rough life? If you have, then you would know the story of these women have not been told. Until now...

This morning I came across Sherrybaby (2006), a little movie about a young woman being paroled from jail and trying to reconnect with her little girl being raised by her brother and wife. While trying to reconnect, she struggles with her past and drug addiction. It sounds like your generic Lifetime movie. Sherrybaby is anything but.

This flick is not told in broad, predictable patterns but is instead a character study of a specific person in a specific situation. The detail and realism is held in check by the director using a lot of eye level shots to simulate the average person's point of view. It doesn't shy away from showing the ugly side of the lead character , Sherry Swanson, a tangle of selfish impulses and desires. Sherry wants her estranged daughter and family to love her unconditionally on her terms. She pursues her desires with little forethought and no concept of consequences.

As good as the movie is, the reason it works is Maggie Gyllenhaal of that famous sibling acting team of which her brother Brokeback Mountain Jake is a part of. Gyllenhaal gives a towering performance as Sherry, a performance thoroughly lived in and believeable. She gives Sherry the right tone of neediness and emotional damage mixed with a complete incomprehension of anything past her own nose. If this movie reached a mass audience, it would be a defining star making performance. As it stands, it is simply a stunning performance.

If anyone wants to see modern acting 101, see Sherrybaby. Special bonus, the always great Danny Trejo co stars.