Daisy Winters

Daisy Winters is a 2017 American independent drama film written and directed by Beth LaMure. The film follows an 11-year-old girl named Daisy Winters, played by Sterling Jerins. Daisy's mother Sandy (Brooke Shields) has been losing a fight with cancer for years. This has made Daisy obsessed with everything to do with death.[1]

Daisy Winters
Film poster
Directed byBeth LaMure
Produced byBeth LaMure
Screenplay byBeth LaMure
StarringSterling Jerins, Brooke Shields, Carrie Preston, Iwan Rheon, Nick Gore and Paul Blackthorne
Music byPaul Grabowsky
CinematographyShawn Maurer
Production
company
Daisy Force Pictures, Hannover House and Me Jane
Release date
  • October 5, 2017 (2017-10-05) (New York premiere)
LanguageEnglish

Director Beth LaMure took her own life on October 2, 2016, during the post-production phase of the film but the project was carried on by producers Jane Badler, Deborah Moore and Sean E. Demott. It premiered on October 5, 2017, reaching public theatres on December 1, 2017. Rotten Tomatoes gave a rating of 60% positive based on five critic's reviews.

Cast

Background

From the time that LaMure finished writing Daisy Winters to the time that it was produced it took 13 years to be put together.[2] LaMure placed a lot of emphasis on having a strong female cast to support her feminist stance and wanted to make up for the lack of young, adventurous and strong female leads in the film industry[3]

It took LaMure a long time to find her idea of the strong female lead that she was looking for, taking time with her casting was important for her as Sterling Jerins auditioned three years before filming took place.[4]

Despite raising awareness for topics of depression and suicide in the film, LaMure took her own life towards the latter end of post-production.[1] Production was continued by producers Jane Badler, Deborah Moore and Sean E. Demott. Sterling Jerins commented that "it was one of the saddest moments of my life" after having found out about her director's passing.[4]

Cinematography

Shawn Maurer was in charge of cinematography and focused on "warm and bright" lighting to give a childish essence to the film. He used handheld camerawork throughout the scenes displaying fear.[1]

Final Cut Pro X was used to edit the film, primarily because of its low cost.[5]

Critical reception

As of February 2020, 60% of the 5 critic's reviews compiled by Rotten Tomatoes are positive, and have an average score of 4 out of 10, with no consensus.[6] In her review for the Los Angeles Times, Kimber Myers criticized the plot as unconvincing and contrived with an overly pat ending while praising the performances, technical proficiency and production values. She commented: " ... other than its performances everything it offers feels inorganic".[7] Amy Nicholson, in her review for Variety, praised the performance by Jerins and the cinematography while criticizing the character of Doug as unconvincing and out of place. The review concluded: " ... even in its strangest moments, there's something refreshing in LaMure's insistence that human behaviour does not fit in tidy boxes and that kids are stronger than adults expect".[1] Jeffrey M Anderson for Common Sense Media rated the film two stars from five, criticizing the direction as lifeless, awkward and detached with thin characterizations apart from the central character, praising the performance of Jerins.[8] Bob Strauss of The Los Angeles Daily News praised Jerins' performance but criticized the other performances.[9]

References
  1. Nicholson, Amy. "Daisy winters review". variety.com. Archived from the original on May 27, 2018. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  2. Verhoeven, Beatrice. "Brooke Shields Joins Sterling Jerins in Drama 'Daisy Winters'". Thewrap.com. Archived from the original on 2019-05-31. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
  3. "Hannover House Pacts with Daisy Force Pictures and Me Jane Productions for North American Release of Acclaimed Drama, "DAISY WINTERS"". Accesswire.com. 2017-09-13. Archived from the original on 2019-05-31. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
  4. "Sterling Jerins On The Film, "Daisy Winters"". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2017-12-01.
  5. ProVideo Coalition (2017-10-01). "Why Final Cut Pro X? A Producer's POV - Feature Film: Daisy Winters by Mike Matzdorff". ProVideo Coalition. Archived from the original on 2019-06-29. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
  6. "Daisy Winters (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 2017-11-26. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
  7. Myers, Kimber. "Daisy Winters review". www.latimes.com. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  8. Anderson, Jeffrey M. "Daisy Winters review". www.commonsensemedia.com. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  9. Bob Strauss (2017-12-01). "There's one amazing film about a bad movie to see this weekend…and 4 others that are just OK – Daily News". Dailynews.com. Archived from the original on 2018-01-08. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
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