Wow this was really a powerful film. I went into it not knowing what to expect. I came out completely touched and completely entertained. The film consists of a series of segments that tie together the central story about "The Dead Girl". Each segment's primary focus is on a particular female character and how circumstances have effected them. Each segment is dark and introspective. This movie is NOT a thriller and if you cant handle purposeful reflective pace. Some would call it "slow" but I never found the movie dragging at all even when minutes go by without a word of dialog. It was too tense and you were always trying to figure out how everything pieced together and the complex meanings and symbologies behind so much of it. Its a complex film and it doesn't go out of its way to inform you what everything means or how everything comes together. I liked that. It left me with a thousand questions but at the same time feeling completely fulfilled. Thats rare in my experience. The viewer should be left interested enough to wonder about the details but not left confused and angry because there are gaps. And this movie pulls that off perfectly.As good as the writing is for this film, the acting is flawless across the board. You have a series of segments where the "main character" is dead throughout most of it so there's never any primary focus for the audience throughout the film. Instead we are given one in each segment but because they (mostly) don't overlap segments you see all the actors fairly equally and it allows them all to shine. I truly cannot think of one character that I wasn't completely impressed with. Marcia Gay Harden was especially moving as the mother of The Dead Girl. She has a scene that I found so heartwrechingly well done that I could not contain my tears but I could not look away at the same time. Rose Byrne is also moving as The Sister. You can feel her torment like its painted on your skin when you watch her segment. And Kerry Washington was just terrific as well. All the acting was just stellar and honestly I cant remember a movie in my adult life where I actually came away noting that.If there's one drawback to the movie its that its at times unbearably depressing and dark and heartbreaking. You go from one troubled soul to the next without let up. And for me it ALMOST got to the point of being too much but Moncrieff pulled it out of a permanent depressive nose dive by weaving in hope and symbolism where there is only horror and darkness. She gives relief in the form of human connection in almost every vignette. So really a great film. Not sure how it went so under the radar or wasn't nominated for anything significant. I love that it forces us to wonder about the story behind what we are seeing on the screen. I love how it doesn't give us a standard story presented in a standard way with a standard wrap up ending. I love that its fully reflective and reflexive in so many ways. And its so deep. There's so much to pick up. I watched it several hours ago and Im ready to watch it again. I think thats the sign of a well done film.

Arden (Toni Collette) is a painfully shy and isolated living her cruel bed ridden mother (Piper Laurie). One day she finds a dead girl in her yard. She becomes the talk of the town and is asked out by the creepy bag boy Rudy (Giovanni Ribisi).Leah (Rose Byrne) is a dutiful fragile daughter. Her parents (Mary Steenburgen, Bruce Davison) is still searching for their missing daughter for 15 years. Leah suffers from the oppressive need to find her sister.Ruth (Mary Beth Hurt) and Carl (Nick Searcy) are a fighting couple with a storage place. She finds some troubling things in one of the storage lockers.Melora (Marcia Gay Harden) has come to L.A. looking for her runaway daughter last seen as a 16 year old Krista (Brittany Murphy). She befriends Krista's former roommate Rosetta (Kerry Washington).Usually a multi-storyline movie like this can be a problem. The common trouble happens when some of the story really disappoints. The good news for this movie is that every story is compelling with great actors. The movie starts with the amazing Toni Collette and never really declines in the class of acting. Director/writer Karen Moncrieff has crafted a very simple story. It's the powerful acting that elevates the movie.

The Dead Girl was some of a giant shock to me, when I watched it last night. From the first scenes of the film, heartbreakingly beautiful shot in the country terrain where a dead girl is found, making changes in a lot of peoples lives.Turn your feelings on, and buy it or rent it!The film is not a thriller, though it's got a threatening edge all way through. It's a story about life, and to a certain amount death, and reminded me of great films like Crash and Grand Canyon. Though it's something completely different.I'm amazed that this went straight to DVD in my country, because it's such a gem of acting, feelings and torment. I love the nerve of the film, and the only thing lacking here is that I want more in the end! Therefore I'd like to watch the film over again, just to study the acting.The film is beautiful, gritty, heartbreaking, hopeful and has a tone of uncertainty which makes you want it never to end. But it does end, or it gives you a lot of hope. I'd like the film to go on to tell more about every individual in this story. So well written, played and filmed is this, that I really felt I was watching something special.This is a hidden gem, that deserves more praise than it has got. I was completely blown away by the greatness. A quiet intensely and beautifully told film draws out the audiences emotions without making anything too obvious.The acting is really superb, and the direction is first class. The cinematography is a perfect complement to the screenplay. The opening scenes featuring the desert are gripping and breathtaking. This film will linger with you for days to come. It's so well written and played by a star cast where absolutely everyone does their job flawlessly. I must say I was completely mesmerized by the play of Toni Collette, Mary Beth Hurt, Mary Steenburgen, Brittany Murphy, Pier Laurie, Giovani Ribisi, James Franco, Rose Byrne, Kerry Washington as well as the others.Can't wait for more from Karen Moncrieff. With stories like these, she'll be the next woman up for Oscar for best film. Well done!

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