Parents' Guide to

Petals on the Wind

By Joyce Slaton, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Incest, murder, and gothic goings-on in book adaptation.

Movie NR 2014 85 minutes
Petals on the Wind Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 17+

Based on 4 parent reviews

Schmeltzh
Schmeltzh Adult
May 31, 2021
age 18+

NOTHING LIKE THE BOOK

If you read the book first then skip the movie(s) , they are zero % like the books. The director and writer did not follow either books what so ever.
Belle.S
Belle.S Adult
November 11, 2019
age 17+

Hauntingly Beautiful Film

This film was a lovely follow on from the first film: Flowers In The Attic. Although the lives of the characters are miserable, every emotion is captured very well within the techniques in the film. Despite the fairly twisted plot which provides much suspense, I must say that I was quite disappointed at the amount of sexual content and how Cathy easily gave herself away to several men. I think that such sexual activity like this should not be performed carelessly as it may teach younger audiences that it is ok to engage in such activities without considering the possible consequences. I suppose this was due to Cathy's upbringing , lack of guidance from a mother and father and a lack of morals that were taught within the family. I found some scenes a little disheartening to watch, such as when Christopher's girlfriend finds out the true nature of Christopher and Cathy's relationship. Not a film to show the young, however a great film overall for young adults.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
See all 4 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Picking up a decade after the events of Flowers in the Attic, which ended with the Dollanganger children escaping their attic prison and abusive family, PETALS ON THE WIND opens with an adult Cathy (Rose McIver) about to head to New York to pursue her dream of being a dancer, Christopher (Wyatt Nash) still longing for Cathy but working his way through medical school, and a miserable high-school-age Carrie (Bailey Buntain), who feels lost at her snooty girls' school and desperately wishes she could reconnect with her cruel mother, Corinne (Heather Graham). But Corinne is comfortably ensconced at Foxworth Hall, married to her handsome new husband Bart (Dylan Bruce), her joy only slightly marred by the gloomy presence of her bedridden mother, Olivia (Ellen Burstyn). Olivia knows Corinne's secrets, and she's not afraid to blurt them out; she's also hatching a scheme to get Olivia out of her hair for good. She's not the only one scheming, however. When Cathy starts losing the most important people in her life, one by one, she blames her mother. Now she's bent on revenge, and she'll stop at nothing to make sure Corinne gets what's coming to her.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (4):
Kids say (4):

Soapy, sudsy, and scandalous, this take on the much-beloved (and much-reviled) V.C. Andrews book is a lot more fun than Lifetime's previous Flowers in the Attic. That last movie seemed to be asking audiences to take the wacky dramatic turns seriously. This follow-up, despite being rushed to production mere months after Flowers pulled in millions of nostalgic viewers, is so over the top that it's a guilty pleasure that's a lot more pleasurable: Cathy and Chris giving each other significant looks, and panting kisses! Christopher's (invented-for-the-movie) bride-to-be walking in on the siblings making out! A super-hot Julian (Will Kemp) saying things like, "I'm a bastard when I drink"!

Of course, a lot was trimmed to make a long, plot-stuffed book compact enough for TV-movie running time. There's no creepy adoptive-father-turned-lover Paul and no bloody miscarriage at Cathy's big ballet audition, and Carrie's screen time is cut drastically. It may also make V.C. Andrews fans annoyed that some subplots were invented for this adaptation, including a saccharine-sweet girlfriend for Christopher (who, granted, doesn't have a lot to do in the novel) and having Corinne obsessed with renovating Foxworth Hall. What was the point of that, exactly? Still, this one's pretty fun and required watching for former 13-year-olds who read the original novel secretly in bed with a flashlight.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the book series that this movie is based on. When was it popular? Why? Did Mom or Dad read it? What did you think about it?

  • What audience is Lifetime attempting to woo with this movie? Does this type of movie fit in with the type of viewer the network is trying to attract?

  • What age are the characters in this movie? Do they look the ages they're portraying? Or do they look older, or younger? Is it hard to tell how much time is passing in the movie based on the ages the characters appear to be?

Movie Details

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