Paint It White

White Oleander

Starring:  Alison Lohman, Robin Wright Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Renée Zellweger

Directed by:  Peter Kosminsky

 

 

Colors affect mood, tone, and theme in the film White Oleander.  This movie narrates a young teenager (Astrid) who journeys through a series of foster homes after her mother (Ingrid) goes to prison for killing her boyfriend with white oleanders—shrubs with long, poisonous evergreen leaves (White Oleander). The oleander plant is referred to as “the desert rose” (International Oleander Society). A desert is a lifeless, abandoned place, indicating that we must be cautious of our surroundings. The whiteness of this remarkable plant, as well as other colors, complement the tone of Astrid’s journey.

 

Throughout the movie, white is part of the background and the character’s clothes, which forms a mood since we relate white to objects and ideas. Historically, the Bible relates white to positive meanings—milk, purity, refinement, angelic—and negative meanings—false righteousness, escaping, devouring, and destruction (Color Symbolism and Color Meaning in the Bible). Astrid and her mother, Ingrid, live in a white house and wear white clothing according to their situation.

 

The white setting gives off a soothing and innocent tone. Astrid’s mother frequently wears a white robe. Many of us link her appearance to angels, which are notionally white. We expect the idealistic mother to represent the morality of an angel. Repeatedly, Ingrid also reminds Astrid that she is perfect. Though, Astrid disagrees with her mother. White imagery supplements Ingrid’s beliefs by changing the mood with a sense of safety.

 

However, this turns into a false perception when Ingrid poisons her boyfriend’s milk with white oleanders. We can connect milk to mothering or nurturing to symbolize a mother’s love, something considered pure yet refined over time. Our optimistism of white makes us feel that everything will be okay, but the story startles us with an evil twist when Ingrid commits murder. Astrid says, “I can’t explain how being with someone so dangerous was the last time I felt safe” (White Oleander). Astrid felt deceived by her mother, finding that she is devouring and destructing. When Ingrid murders her boyfriend, she reveals white’s negative side.

 

After illustrating the positive and negatives of white, the end of the movie shows its complete opposite—black. Astrid is so determined not to allow herself to be vulnerable again that when she has a chance for a home with a kind, loving couple, she insists instead on going with Rena, where she is sure not to be disappointed again. Rena is a money-hungry Russian with black hair, a black suit, and a house with dark lighting (White Oleander). Naturally, we link black to negative aspects of human experience—including death, disease, famine, and sorrow (Color Symbolism in the Bible). Astrid chooses this path so her mother’s fallacy, or the negative part of white, does not hurt her anymore. Black, in contrast to white, gives the setting a depressing mood.

 

When Astrid moves from foster parent to foster parent however, her life is not completely white. She adopts the colors of the families she lives with. Astrid’s foster homes include Starr, who shoots Astrid, Claire, who kills herself, and in between, she stays at an institution, where she is beat up by tough girls (White Oleander). Each setting provides Astrid with a new identity to try and a new opportunity to be hurt. The colors and settings change the tone of each foster home Astrid encounters.

 

Black and white, along with other colors, affect this movie’s overall tone. Each setting presents Astrid with new colors, where she tries to find her identity. Only, in the end she looks at all the suitcases from each of her foster homes and discovers that all these colors were really apart of her, that her life was not completely black and white. The different colors conveys that life cannot reach the perfect standards white, that there will be color, flaws, and immorality. Ingrid paints her surroundings and her life white since she thinks she and her daughter are already perfect. This world changes when Astrid explores different foster homes, where different colors take place. These colors shape the tone and mood of the movie because they help us understand Astrid’s situations.

 

 

Works Cited

“History of Oleander in America.” International Oleander Society. 20 Apr. 2007 < http://oleander.org/history.html>.

“Color Symbolism and Meaning in the Bible.” Riding the Beast. 20 Apr. 2007 < http://www.ridingthebeast.com/articles/colors/>.

White Oleander.  Dir. Peter Kosminsky.  Warner Bros. 2002.