What’s the Story?

Five films in one, THE DEAD GIRL is Krista (played in flashback by Brittany Murphy). In the first segment, Krista's body is found by Arden (Toni Collette), who lives with her demanding mother (Piper Laurie) and finds brief respite in the arms of serial killer aficionado/grocery bagger Rudy (Giovanni Ribisi). In "The Sister," Leah (Rose Byrne) struggles with the ongoing aftermath of having a sister who's been missing for more than 15 years. A forensics grad student, she's hoping that the corpse Arden discovered is her sibling -- knowing the end will, she imagines, help resolve her family's trauma. In "The Wife," Ruth (Mary Beth Hurt), is married to Carl (Nick Searcy), who leaves her to go "driving" at night. When a chance discovery leads her to knowledge she'd rather not have, Ruth has to make a choice, and none of her options is good. The last two segments reveal specific information about Krista and reinforce the film's point that women must help each other.

Is It Any Good?

THE DEAD GIRL is a bleak homage to women's survival and defeat in the face of violence and oppression. Karen Moncrieff's second feature expands on the themes of her first -- Blue Car -- investigating the ways that lack of communication among women only exacerbates their bad situations with men.

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Cast & Film Details

Studio

First Look Pictures

Director

Karen Moncrieff

Cast

• Toni Collette
• Brittany Murphy
• Marcia Gay Harden

Genre

Drama

Run time

93 minutes

Theatrical release

12/29/2006

DVD release

5/15/2007

MPAA rating

R

MPAA explanation

language, grisly images and sexuality/nudity.

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