‘Peel’ Review: Emile Hirsch Swims In The Deep End With Confident Coming Of Age Tale
Shailene Woodley Ventures Into Gregg Araki’s ‘White Bird in a Blizzard’
Directed by Gregg Araki, White Bird in a Blizzard centers on Kat Connors (Shailene Woodley), a 17-year-old whose mother Eve (Eva Green) disappears from the family. After returning home on a break from college, Kat is confronted with the reality of her mother’s disappearance.
Along with the chance to collaborate with director Gregg Araki (Mysterious Skin, The Doom Generation), Woodley also had the chance to play an emotionally complex character. “(Kat is) extremely mature and strong and confident in a way you don’t often see in coming of age films,” says Woodley, whose previous credits include The Spectacular Now and Divergent. “Part of that lends itself to the fact that her parents weren’t emotionally available for her when she was a child and so she had to age herself quickly and realize for her own survival she had to be her own parent.”
During the White Bird in a Blizzard press conference, Shailene Woodley said the screenplay is the main criteria on how she selects her films: “It’s sort of an instinctual decision when I read a script – I either get butterflies or I don’t.”
Click on the media bar below to hear Shailene Woodley give her full answer on why the old Hollywood adage of “story first” definitely rings true:
Based on the Laura Kasischke novel, White Bird in a Blizzard is now available On Demand and opens in select theaters October 24.
