Rated R
Reviewed by: Jim
May 23, 2003		Released by: Miramax

The title of Karen Moncrief's compelling character study refers to a daughter's last remembrance of her father.  Blue Car intelligently eschews being episodic in dealing with a high school senior who has quite a gift for writing, but is sullen from her parent's divorce.  Moncrief gets rich performances from newcomer Agnes Bruckner as Meg who has shown weakness like shoplifting and from David Strathairn's Mr. Auster, Meg's English teacher, who prods her to "dig deeper" and confront her anxiety through poetry.

The relationship between Meg and Mr. Austere brings some emotional discomfort to the screen, but how vulnerability is joined with matters of the mind reaches a pointed state that makes for a wrenching drama with a convincing portrayal of mental illness by Regan Arnold as Meg's wistful younger sister, Lily.