White Bird in a Blizzard (2014), R, ★★

Shiloh Fernandez and Shailene Woodley.

I have seen too many movies where an older woman is trying to be sexy in front of younger ones because her relationship with her husband is uneventful and boring. There are a few more movies coming out with this sort of premise, one next year. Ugh! Anyway, it is a little movie that could about the disappearance of a mother that sometimes seduce younger people for pleasure. And, this movie regarding a dismissive housewife's sexual awakening takes some elements and makes it so incoherent that it looks a kid was shaking the snow globe that you are dizzy in the end.

The story weaves back-and-forth with flashbacks and the present day with Eve's (Eva Green) past life and what's going on in the movie. What we witness in the flashbacks is Eve being a sexually charged independent that somehow lost her way after she married her husband, Brock (Christopher Meloni). In the present day, we witness Kat (Shailene Woodley) exploring her blossoming sexuality with a neighbor, Phil (Shiloh Fernandez).

Eve tries to lure Phil with her sexuality even though she has aged. When she has disappeared, Kat deals with her abandonment occasionally releasing her wild side seducing a detective. Kat returns home from college and finds out that her father is in a relationship with a co-worker and it is going to get out of hand when the detective reveals information that'll change everything.

Eva Green relaxing in a swimsuit. No surprise.

This movie is a forgettable product of sexual manipulation that seems to not distinguish itself from reality. It is just manipulative hodgepodge that seems to try to entertain us without any rooting interest and that is the big problem. We do not root any interest for any particular character. All the characters seem so confused about something and therefore we cannot explore what is going on in detail. It is just there on-screen not providing any depth.

The saving grace of this movie, however, is the two performances by Shailene Woodley and Eva Green. Woodley is truly an exceptional actress who can do almost anything, but it has to supported by a great screenplay. Eva Green has had a wild year with the 300 sequel, the Sin City sequel and this movie. But, this movie provides her with a little range of sexuality and also more vulnerability. However, nowadays with her career really taking off, it will be a surprise that there will not a nude or sex scene with Green in it.

However, there are two genres that are displayed on-screen which are the suburban thriller and the erotic thriller and neither seem interesting. It needs fully developed characters to explore and follow with more depth than just witnessing flawed characters. I will say, however, in this mystery that there is a plot twist that is a bit satisfying but also plain ridiculous so I was left aghast with the final result. All I can say is it is a cold movie to look at with good performances but it was an unpleasant experience to take in.

**