Synopsis
After serving time in prison, former drug addict Sherry Swanson returns home to reclaim her young daughter from family members who have been raising the child. Sherry's family, especially her sister-in-law, doubt Sherry's ability to be a good mother, and Sherry finds her resolve to stay clean slowly weakening.
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Cast
- Maggie GyllenhaalSherry Swanson
- Brad William HenkeBobby Swanson
- Sam BottomsBob Swanson Sr.
- Giancarlo EspositoParole Officer Hernandez
- Bridget BarkanLynette Swanson
- Ryan SimpkinsAlexis Parks
- Kate BurtonMarcia Swanson
- Rio HackfordAndy Kelly
- Danny TrejoDean Walker
- Michelle HurstDorothy Washington
Recommendations
- 100
Entertainment Weekly
Maggie Gyllenhaal is such a miracle of an actress that she makes you respond to the innocence of Sherry's desperate, selfish destruction. - 91
Christian Science Monitor
In Gyllenhaal's all-out performance, it reminded me most of Judy Davis in "High Tide," another movie directed by a woman (Gillian Armstrong) about a misfit mother and her daughter. It has the same fierce honesty. - 80
The Hollywood Reporter
Buoyed by Gyllenhaal's hauntingly complex portrait of the vivacious but addictive Sherry, the film is no mere by-the-numbers chronology of addiction. Gyllenhaal's sympathetic and charismatic performance binds us to the horror of Sherry's personal demons. - 80
The New York Times
What distinguishes the film from its many peers is the quality of Ms. Collyer’s writing -- which rarely reaches for obvious, melodramatic beats -- and the precision of Ms. Gyllenhaal’s performance. She treats the character neither as a case study nor as an opportunity to show off her range, but rather as a completely ordinary and therefore arrestingly complicated person. - 75
USA Today
There is nothing flashy about these performances, but Gyllenhaal, Dillon and Gosling fully inhabit their characters, giving haunting portrayals. Watch for these names to emerge on the short list for Academy Award consideration. - 70
Variety
Gyllenhaal, in her most substantial role since "Secretary," does a fine, unshowy job of limning Sherry's faults without alienating the viewer or pleading for sympathy. - 70
Salon
The wonder of Sherrybaby is that we can admire Sherry's exuberance and evident love of life -- and the extraordinary actress who portrays her -- without really being sure where she's going. - 50
Village Voice
Sherrybaby is by no means a terrible film...But we know exactly where the transparent action is going from word one.
