Blue Car (2003)
77%RT Audience Score: 65%
Awards & Nominations: 1 win & 6 nominations
A cautionary tale that rings true
Blue Car is a coming-of-age film that tells the story of a young girl’s struggles with sexual abuse and family dynamics. While some critics found the film to be too heavy on drama, others praised the performances of the cast, particularly Agnes Bruckner’s extraordinary debut. Margaret Colin also shines as the harried mother, trying to balance her career and her family. Overall, Blue Car is a powerful and honest film that tackles difficult subject matter with sensitivity and nuance. It may not be flashy, but it gets the emotional details right and is definitely worth a watch.
Production Company(ies)
Focus Features, Tohokushinsha Film Corporation, American Zoetrope
Distributor
Miramax Films
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Dayton, Ohio, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for sexual content and language
Year of Release
2003
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 36m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 2, 2003 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 14, 2003
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
Blue Car, drama, 2002, 1h 36m, directed by Karen Moncrieff, written by Karen Moncrieff, starring David Strathairn, Agnes Bruckner, Margaret Colin, Frances Fisher, A.J Buckley, Regan Arnold, produced by Peer J Oppenheimer, Amy Sommer, David Waters, reviewed by David Ansen, Bill Muller, Andrew Sarris, Marjorie Baumgarten, Connie Ogle, Stanley Kauffmann, David Walsh, Richard Propes, Philip Martin, Thomas Delapa, Brian Gibson, R-rated, sexual content, language, box office gross $464.1K, poetry, English teacher, mentor, father figure, national poetry contest, tension, emotional scars, writing, solace, talent, complex, cautionary tale, coming-of-age, emotional, powerful, sad, tragedy, dysfunctional family, student-teacher relationship, betrayal, loss, genuine, unsettling, emotional portrayal
Worldwide gross: $476,551
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $772,428
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,646
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 84,234
US/Canada gross: $465,310
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $754,208
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,246
US/Canada opening weekend: $30,087
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $48,767
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,218
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $1,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $1,620,872
Production budget ranking: 2,049
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $872,839
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$1,721,283
ROI to date (est.): -69%
ROI ranking: 1,798
Agnes Bruckner – Meg
Margaret Colin – Diane
Frances Fisher – Delia
A.J. Buckley – Pat
Regan Arnold – Lily
Director(s)
Karen Moncrieff
Writer(s)
Karen Moncrieff
Producer(s)
Peer J. Oppenheimer, Amy Sommer, David Waters
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
1 win & 6 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (89) | Top Critics (39) | Fresh (72) | Rotten (17)
There’s nothing flashy about Moncrieff’s filmmaking, and there doesn’t need to be: from the start, she gets the emotional details right, and the viewer feels intimately engaged with the young protagonist. It’s a powerful, fresh, honest debut.
March 7, 2018
David Ansen
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
Worth watching for the coming-out party of Agnes Bruckner, a relative newcomer who shows her mettle with an extraordinary performance in this very ordinary tear-jerker.
June 12, 2003 | Rating: 3/5
Bill Muller
Arizona Republic
TOP CRITIC
An impressive first effort from Ms. Moncrieff, but the eternal Aristotelian in me finds it depressing to watch characters always walking around in moral quicksand.
June 11, 2003
Andrew Sarris
Observer
TOP CRITIC
It’s an incredibly strong debut reinforced by astonishingly good performances by all the principals.
June 8, 2003 | Rating: 3.5/5
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
A well-intentioned coming-of-age film anchored by two indelible performances but weakened by an overabundance of drama.
May 30, 2003 | Rating: 2.5/4
Connie Ogle
Miami Herald
TOP CRITIC
The film is strengthened by the two leading performances.
May 28, 2003
Stanley Kauffmann
The New Republic
TOP CRITIC
Margaret Colin is excellent as the harried mother, making desperate and perhaps humiliating efforts to win promotion, unable to pay sufficient attention to her two daughters, alternately angry and tender.
February 16, 2021
David Walsh
World Socialist Web Site
One of the more stunning films I’ve seen on the subject of sexual abuse and family dynamics.
September 3, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
…falters because it hews too closely to the witless cant of the average guy as a potential sex criminal.
January 7, 2005 | Rating: B-
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Though the story is fragile, Bruckner’s superlative acting registers Meg’s feelings with the dead-on accuracy of an emotional geiger counter.
February 9, 2004
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly
Vivid performances . . . the film’s warmly luminous look and the richly rendered view of a troubled but talented teen’s struggles with the adult world sustain the film.
December 1, 2003
Brian Gibson
Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Alberta)
Cuts both ways: the poetry and the acting were hot, the story and the cinematography were not so hot.
October 23, 2003 | Rating: B
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews…
Plot
Gifted 18-year-old Meg has been abandoned by her father and neglected by her hardworking mother. Left to care for her emotionally disturbed younger sister, her world begins to unravel. She finds an outlet in writing poetry and support from her English teacher, Mr. Auster. But what started out as a mentoring relationship begins to get a bit more complex.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
There’s no goofy or funny comment from Fresh Kernels.about Blue Car, but they do mention that Agnes Bruckner gives a breakthrough performance as Meg.
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