Sherrybaby

SherryBaby

Directed by: Laurie Collyer

Starring: Maggie Gyllenhaal

Genre: Drama

Run Time: 96 min.

Release Date: September 2006

On The Web: Official Site

Teaser: Movie Trailer

Reviewed by Byron Merritt

SHERRYBABY has garnered accolades from the general public and professional critics alike. And although Maggie Gyllenhaal’s (WORLD TRADE CENTER) performance as an embittered, used-up druggie just released from prison is well-rendered, the story, as a whole, wasn’t completely entertaining nor cohesive.

We first meet Sherry Swanson as she walks down the street after being released from jail. She journey’s to a half-way house for recent parolees and rents a room. Her goal, though, is to reconnect with her estranged four-year-old daughter, Alexis (Ryan Simpkins), who lives with Sherry’s brother Bobby (Brad William Henke, NORTH COUNTRY) and protective wife Lynette (Bridget Barkan). Bobby and Lynette have taken on the mantle of parents to Alexis, and although Bobby is willing to let Sherry get close to Alexis, Lynette is anything but willing. This obviously angers Sherry and conflicts with her desire to be a good, close mother.

Added to this stressor is Sherry’s physical desire for male companionship and the heroin she used to use. She tries to stay on the straight-and-narrow but soon falls back into her old lifestyle.

Battling her motherly bond along with a history of incestuous abuse by her father, Sherry has so much on her plate that it overwhelms her, causing her to make bad choices.

The culmination of these poor judgements presents itself when she tries to abscond with Alexis and crosses state lines (a huge parole violation). But can she understand what’s happening to her? Can she make the connection between her own poor upbringing and that of her daughter’s uncertain future? This comes to fruition in a public bathroom where Sherry loses her cool and frightens Alexis to the point of incontinence.

In the end, Sherry does the right thing and returns Alexis to the safety of Bobby and Lynette’s home. But at what cost to herself? What will happen to Sherry now that she’s given over much of her parental and motherly duties to her brother and sister-in-law?

This is where the biggest script concern lay for Sherrybaby. The resolution is too loose, only showing us Sherry driving away from Bobby and Lynette’s home with no understanding as to what will happen to her and Alexis.

Nothing should be taken away from Gyllenhaal’s performance, though. She is the shining star in this otherwise mundane story. And it is her, and only her, that will keep you watching the film.