Directed by Karen Moncrieff
Screenplay by Karen Moncrieff

David Strathairn .... Auster
Agnes Bruckner .... Meg
Margaret Colin .... Diane
Frances Fisher .... Delia
A.J. Buckley .... Pat
Regan Arnold .... Lily
Sarah Buehler .... Georgia
Dustin Sterling .... Rob
Mike Ward .... Dad
Wayne Armstrong .... Don
Aftab Pureval .... Boy in Class
Wendy Lardin .... Georgia's Mom
Jenn O'nofrio .... Blonde Girl
Greg Miller .... Priest
Michael Raysses .... Mr. Kastran
Amy Benedict .... Diner Waitress

Produced by
Don Daniel .... associate producer
Eric Karten .... co-producer
John Mays .... associate producer
Karri O'Reilly .... line producer
Peer J. Oppenheimer .... producer
Kelly Simpson .... associate producer
Amy Sommer .... producer
Gene Viglione .... co-producer
David Waters .... producer

Original Music by Adam Gorgoni
Cinematography by Rob Sweeney
Film Editing by Toby Yates

MPAA: Rated R for sexual content and language.
Runtime: 96 min
For rating reasons, go to FILMRATINGS.COM, and MPAA.ORG.
Parents, please refer to PARENTALGUIDE.ORG

"Blue Car" is an evocative drama that tells the story of an 18 year-old girl, abandoned by her father and neglected by her overworked mother, who turns for solace and inspiration to her English teacher. What starts out as a mentoring relationship becomes increasingly complex and ambiguous as the tension in her family escalates.

Blue Car is a world filled with alienated people living empty lives. Following a divorce, Meg's father deals with it by being absent. Her mother deals with it by overwork and being emotionally absent. Her younger sister deals with it through self-destructive behavior such as cutting herself and starving herself.

Meg seems to have found a healthy outlet in poetry, encouraged by her teacher, Mr. Auster. Auster seems to be the kind of teacher we long to have filling classrooms. Here is someone who cares for students and is willing to take the time to nurture the gifts of a promising writer. As Meg works with him to find her voice and to refine her poetry for a contest, her self-confidence grows and she seems to begin to blossom.

But she too soon begins to fall into self-destructive behavior in a variety of ways. We see too that Auster has his own self-destructive agenda and emptiness. As all this self-destruction comes together, we fear that everything that Meg has managed to build in her life will come crashing down.

Agnes Bruckner gives a wonderful performance as a confused, struggling teenager trying to come to grips with the tragedies of her life and struggling to find love and acceptance.

The blue car of the title is Meg's father's car, and the focus of her poem. It is the car she saw drive away when her father left, but also the car that brings him for his infrequent visits. It represents her longing and emptiness, but also her hope.

In some ways this films seems to be about hopelessness. Each time hope seems to grow, something happens to destroy it. In the end, however, we are left with a chance to hope one more time. We don't know whether her life will begin to bloom anew, but we see the possibility. But then that is what we all have. Even after making mistakes, often big mistakes, our future always rests in the possibility that we have grown and will continue to grow.

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