In Bloom

In Bloom, filmmaker Vadim Perelman’s follow-up to The House of Sand and Fog, is an intricately-plotted and richly conceived drama that ultimately doesn’t entirely come together in as profound and emotionally-affecting manner as one imagines it’s meant to. Perelman, working from Laura Kasischke’s novel, has employed a complex structure that essentially leaves the viewer in the dark while the pieces slowly but surely fall into place – with the end result a film whose overall effectiveness can’t quite be determined until the end credits roll. The basic premise, which involves one woman’s efforts to deal with a school shooting years earlier, has been filled out with a myriad of subplots, and there’s certainly no denying that the movie occasionally feels busier than it needs to be. Perelman’s use of dreamy, almost otherworldly visuals complements the material quite well, and the performances, particularly Uma Thurman and Evan Rachel Wood as the older and younger versions of the central character, are incredibly strong and engaging. But the remarkably ambiguous conclusion all but assures that most viewers will leave the film questioning the fate of a key character, and one would imagine that the novel more effectively spelled out exactly what happened. Still, In Bloom, anchored primarily by Perelman’s striking directorial choices, is an ambitious piece of work that generally succeeds in painting a vivid portrait of the way one random act of violence can color an entire life.

*** out of ****