Tagline: No one makes it alone.
Sherrybaby movie storyline. Three years after entering prison for robbery as a 19-year-old heroin addict, Sherry Swanson (Maggie Gyllenhaal) begins her first day of freedom, clean and sober. A model prisoner who has undergone personal transformation, she immediately sets out to regain custody of her young daughter Alexis (Ryan Simpkins), who has been cared for in her absence by her brother Bobby (Brad William Henke) and his wife Lynn (Bridget Barkan).
Unprepared for the demands of the world she’s stepped back into, Sherry’s hopes of staying clean, getting a job, and becoming a responsible mother are challenged by the realities of unemployment, halfway houses, and parole restrictions. Bobby and Lynn’s concerns about Sherry’s ability to care for Alexis, and her inability to prove them wrong, threaten to destroy the already delicate relationship she has with her daughter, as well as her newfound sobriety.
Disillusioned and haunted by wounds from her childhood, Sherry is eventually confronted with life-altering questions about her own survival and what it means to be a good mother. Ultimately she learns that as the harsh realities of life often get in the way of her best intentions, sometimes it’s best to take life one small step at a time.
Director’s Statement
One of my closest childhood friends went to prison the year I graduated from college. I based the story of sherrybaby on her life. We used to party together in junior high and high school and I always looked up to her as someone who didn’t take shit from anybody. I think I became obsessed with her story because in the back of my mind I knew that it could have been me going down that path.
Two other kids from my block died in their mid-30’s from heroin, between them was also one little girl left behind. People think that stories of prison and drugs come from the ghetto. It’s not true. We are a post-60’s generation. We’ve done a lot of drugs and reveled in a lot of negativity. Some of us survived and some of us didn’t. sherrybaby is for my friend and for all the rest of us who have weathered the storm.
I chose Maggie Gyllenhaal for this role because I believe she is the most exciting actress of her generation. She has a sparkling mind, a wealth of emotion and miles and miles of charisma. She has the ability to turn the darkest, most difficult characters into someone you would want to know. On top of all that, she has the integrity of an artist. I jumped at the opportunity to work with Maggie Gyllenhaal, and our collaboration is the reason I can call myself a director today.
sherrybaby is a film about hope — the hope of a young woman trying to reconnect with her child after a long hard road of drug addiction and prison time. It is a desperate, almost primal hope which exists beyond reason. But this is truly what hope is — an indomitable spirit that keeps us believing that life can be what we imagine. As a character, Sherry Swanson is the embodiment of hope because she has nothing left to believe in, and yet she still believes… — Writer / Director of Sherrybaby, Laurie Collyer
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Sherrybaby (2006)
Directed by: Laurie Collyer
Starring: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ryan Simpkins, Brad William Henke, Bridget Barkan, Sam Bottoms, Kate Burton, Giancarlo Esposito, Stephen Peabody, Caroline Clay
Screenplay by: Laurie Collyer
Production Design by: Stephen Beatrice
Cinematography by: Russell Lee Fine
Film Editing by: Curtiss Clayton, Joe Landauer
Costume Design by: Jill Newell
Set Decoration by: Lisa Scoppa
Music by: Jack Livesey
MPAA Rating: R for strong sexuality, nudity, language and drug content.
Distributed by: IFC Films
Release Date: September 8, 2006
Views: 85
