The Dead Girl (2006)

How sad is this?

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Movies that have different storytelling techniques are always appealing to watch and "The Dead Girl" does it by segmenting the narrative structure into five chapters, all inter-connecting in the end. You definitely need to have a well-written script for even attempting such a film and I think that is where it falls a bit flat."The Dead Girl" tells the story young girl, played by the regretted Brittany Murphy, who is murdered and shows us the different people that were affected by or were directly affecting the death of the girl. The premise sounds stunning and the acting is astounding from the likes of a hugely talented cast, Brittany Murphy, Toni Collette, Giovanni Ribisi or Marcia Gay Harden just to name a few. Some segments made sense and were better than other, but there were a couple that simply didn't work out in my opinion."The Dead Girl" has an interesting take on the murder mystery genre but it's just not that entertaining in the long haul. I have seen a lot of praises for it, each to his or her valid opinions, but it just did not captivate me enough to say that it's a great movie.

In addition to the excellent acting and haunting stories, this is one of those rare films that doesn't settle for stereotypes in portraying the desperation and hopelessness so often experienced in the lives of real working class and poor Americans. Aided by realistic sets and wardrobes, the characters were so richly defined, developed and portrayed that I felt they could have been my own neighbors, family and friends.Witnessing and empathizing with the pain of so many psychologically damaged characters was more difficult for this viewer than watching repeated scenes of the decaying dead girl's body. Virtually everyone in this film was suffering and inflicting emotional pain on others. It is unlikely that any of these troubled and traumatized characters would ever find inner peace or happiness in the future, because they have limited insight into their own motivations, thoughts and behavior. They often make poor and irrational choices, but they still deserve our compassion. Each characters' suffering has deep roots and their suffering will likely last until they die. Sometimes viewing the film felt like watching a human train wreck with the characters thrashing blindly through life, barely conscious of who they were, why they behaved as they did, or how to get what they truly wanted for themselves.Amazing and very rewarding film! I caution people who are experiencing clinical depression not to watch it until they are feeling better, because this film definitely has multiple triggers to pull someone even deeper into that black hole.

No mere directorial debut from Karen Moncrieff, as I watched again it came to me all the stars who wanted to have roles in this production Brittany Murphy, Marcia Gay harden, Josh Brolin, James Franco, Kerry Washington, Piper Laurie Rose Byrne and Toni Collette (Australians) the usually excellent Giovanni Ribisi and solid Mary Steenburgen, Bruce Davison quite a cast... it shows how a serial killer can get away with it for so long, the devastating effects on the families of his victims, the sadness, the loss... an important movie I think... Britanny's daughter the little girl in the backseat as she goes to a new life with her Grannie is something else...the scene brings tears to the eyes

This movie is about five different people finding out about the dead girl and is dividing into 5 chapters. The Stranger, The Daughter, The Mother, The Wife, and finally The Dead Girl. and it mostly revolves around the dead girl and how people in the movie deal with it since related people are interwoven around the murder of the dead girl played by Brittany Murphy who does a great job with the role that is given to her on the last act. Although every actor and actresses bring great acting to this movie, each chapter is shot a bit differently, the difference is slight but if you pay attention to the movie you can see it, which is actually a good thing. This is a dark tale and has a dark atmosphere to it but is still intriguing at the same time, this was like watching a puzzle get put together with every chapter adding a piece to the mystery. But if your expecting a movie that is a thriller, you will be disappointed cause this movie is far from being a thriller. But what it is, is a haunting and intriguing film that is worth checking out. Every actor and actress put on a good show without going over the top, and I found that Brittany Murphy's performance was noteworthy.7.5/10