Sherrybaby Shines..

I saw this cracking movie during the recent Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. It’s all narrative. So, if you the kind of person that likes a meat and two veg movie, this is not one for you. It wouldn’t surprise me if Maggie Gyllenhaal gets an Oscar nom for this role. She dresses down and slums it as ex-heroin addict Sherry. Hollywood loves that. Voting Hollywood even more.

We join Sherry as she leaves prison and tries to make a clean start. She’s full of hope and wants to build a relationship with her young daughter who has been raised by Sherry’s brother. Sherry idealises her daughter and you get the feeling that her dreams of raising her own child were sustaining throughout her stay in prison.

The strange thing about this movie, is that Sherry is a dichotomy. On one hand, she tries to carve out an idealistic existence for her and her daughter while on the other hand, she pays for her criminal past by selling her body, self-respect and abusing drugs. It makes for an interesting mix.

However, the premise of the film falls apart when writer-director Collyer attempts a show-and-tell approach to explaining why Sherry is so messed up. It’s executed quite clumsily and doesn’t sit beside the rest of the film well. This is a small complaint especially when put in perspective of the magnetic performance of Gyllenhaal. I loved this film.