Bastard Out of Carolina (DVD, 2000)

In 1993, lesbian feminist poet turned novelist, Dorothy Allison gave to us a heart wrenching novel, "Bastard Out of Carolina." When it hit the screen, those of us who'd read the novel dashed off to see if the film was true to text. Anjelica Houston's directing debut was indeed as raving a success as was Allison’s celebrated semi-autobiography.

The story begins in rural Greenville County, South Carolina, right after WWII, when women being unwed mothers were made social outcasts, as were their offspring. Allison and Houston both convey the struggles of one such child from her own perspective: Ruth Anne Boatwright (known as Bone), whose birth certificate was stamped by the local government "bastard," in bold red.

Anney Boatwright is the Bone’s mother and a diner waitress. The Boatwright men are underclassed brawlers "who drink hard and shoot up each other's trucks" for typical rural ‘good old boy’ US southern sport. They also enjoy mistreating girls and women due to their own insecurities and social inferiority.

It’s after Anney marries the seemingly loving Daddy Glen, when his relationship with Bone starts becoming the story’s central problem. Enraged, Daddy Glen begins to physically abuse Bone on a regular basis, after Anney miscarries their son. When Anney learns her husband has been abusing Bone, she leaves him. But deep seeded need for a man's love, even an abusive one's, is impetus enough for her to return to a relentlessly wooing Glen. Doing so sets thje inevitable scene for a heinous incident between Daddy Glen and Bone. As a result, a serious break forms between Anney and Bone. The question becomes, will their severed mother-daughter relationship heal?

Having lived in rural South Carolina and Georgia, I commend Allison's keen memory and literary acumen while revealing the dirty all-too-well-known truths of how the back woods straight folks really live. Though the DVD is based on a fictional novel, the film is filled with truths that US citizens would assuredly like to pretend don't exist--and not just in the underclassed and back woods rural straight white America, either!~

This movie should not be watched by young children due to sexual content, violent segments. This movie covers a great deal of unfortunate issues covering poverty in the back woods of the Carolinas after War Time, importance of strong family values, child abuse, child sexual abuse, parent abandoment and the affects on young children. Women who don't need a men to survive. Breast cancer and Death.
It is a very moving film. It will get you worked up, it will make you cry, and it will make you laugh and you will go away with a sence of "That was a Damn Good Movie". I myself have watched about five times on Lifetime and I never get tired of it.

I love the story line of this movie and have seardched for the movie for a lond time, ever since I saw movie on Lifetime years ago.

I had seen this movie before I bought it. A very good movie, but shocking. Child abuse to the extreme, but shows what is happening in the real world to real children. I bought it, because it is good! Good acting and a very serious subject!

Great Southern Movie I really liked this movie! I recommend this movie to anyone over 18 years of age!