White Oleander (2002) review

After artist Ingrid Magnussen (Michelle Pfeiffer) is sentenced to prison for poisoning her boyfriend Barry (Billy Connolly), her teenage daughter Astrid (Alison Lohman) is sent to a variety of foster homes: first she lives with Jesus freak stripper Starr Thomas (Robin Wright), then she moves into a violent "children's home" where she meets comic book fan Paul (Patrick Fugit), then she stays with unhappy actress Claire (Renée Zellweger) and finally is taken in by stereotypically Russian (and money hungry) Rena (Svetlana Efremova) ... but Ingrid still manipulates her from behind bars via letters and in-person meetings.  Critical consensus seems to be mixed regarding this, and while it does contain mostly Bad Men - Astrid's birth father abandoned her and Ingrid, Barry's a cheater, Starr's lover Ray (Cole Hauser) is a flirt and Claire's husband Mark (Noah Wyle) is unfaithful - the various "Mother Figures" aren't exactly what you'd consider "role models" either, forcing Astrid to become her own person the tough way.  It becomes exhausting watching the lead character go from one terrible situation to another with no relief, but the cast is better than expected, especially Pfeiffer (playing against type) as a sociopath and Zellweger as an emotional disaster who overdoses on prescription medication ... although a very long sleep sure beats being sawed to bits by a murderer wearing a mask of human flesh.