Margaret (2012)

A typical teenage girl (Anna Paquin) witnesses a bus accident that kills a pedestrian (Allison Janney) and the woman dies in her arms. So traumatized by the incident that it affects her profoundly and she finds herself in a moral dilemma that will that will change her forever. Written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan (who also plays Paquin's father in the movie), the film has a troubled history. Originally scheduled for release in 2007, Lonergan continued to work on the film for several years before it was released in 2011 doing the film festival circuit before receiving a limited release in 2012. For such an intimate story, the film's 3 hour running time seems excessive but it's an ambitious film with a lot of ground to cover. While parts of it do seem slightly self indulgent, on the whole I found it a moving experience. Anna Paquin gives a tremendous performance in a rich, complex and layered role. It's not an easy film to sit through but the rewards are great and while there's a lot to criticize, its assets outweigh its liabilities. The excellent cast includes Matt Damon, Mark Ruffalo, Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno, Jeannie Berlin, Kieran Culkin, Rosemarie DeWitt and an especially notable performance by J. Smith Cameron as Paquin's actress mother.