Aedonerre
I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.
StyleSk8r
At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
Arianna Moses
Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.
dhainline1
In this sequel to "Flowers in the Attic" Cathy gets her revenge against her evil mother and grandmother. I just remember the actress who was Cathy was named Rose and I don't really remember the last name all that well! Cathy wants to have a normal life and she wants that for her older brother Chris and younger sister Carrie, but the horrible life she had at Foxworth Hall has her in its grip! Chris wants to move on with medical school and dating Sarah, the daughter of his instructor but he still has less than pure feelings for Cathy. Unfortunately for Sarah, he acts on those feelings and the relationship and potential marriage go to hell! Carrie, the sister who suffered the loss of her twin brother, Cory suffers in another way: she has not grown very tall, carries a doll around, and is teased mercilessly by the snobby girls at the boarding school she attends. Cathy is also abused by Julian, the son of her ballet instructor. She stays with him because she thinks he can make her a big star and the fact that she is carrying his unborn son is another factor. He dies later in a car crash. Into all of this, Corinne comes back as Bart Winslow's wife. Bart wants to have kids with her, but Corinne can never have children. Heather Graham brings her A-game with Corinne's selfishness and shallowness. Corinne hates caring for the scary grandmother of the kids who has had a stroke and is basically helpless. Ellen Burstyn is great as the grandmother who despite the stroke knows the evil things Corinne has done to her children and she keeps reminding her daughter of the fact. Corinne's evil and greed makes her deny poor Carrie and this drives the girl to eat arsenic laced donuts in the same way Cory did. This kills Carrie and Cathy has her revenge at last! She has an affair with Bart Winslow and conceives his child. She almost assaults the grandmother and comes out at Bart and Corinne's Christmas Party to tell the guests what Corinne did to her kids. The grandmother is of no help to her daughter and in the bedroom, she shows Corinne the trunk with little Cory's rotting corpse inside. This drives Corinne out of her tree and she thinks Chris her son is her husband. She sets fire to the house, killing her mother and Bart. At the end of the movie, the family of Chris and Cathy which includes 2 sons is now living in California under the name Dollanganger. The neighbors think they are so perfect and Corinne is locked up an insane asylum. This movie like the book is a guilty pleasure and all the characters were very good!
farishthas
After watching LIfetime's attempt at the second novel to screen, it seems as if they are improving...Since I read petals on the wind first, it is my favorite book of the series, mostly because Cathy is brilliant at her revenge plotting against her mother! Unfortunately the movie doesn't pay enough homage to characters like Paul Sheffield but thats alright since we get to see Heather graham portray Corrine exquisitely! She has now proved to be the right choice to play this character, she was wicked and charming and nutty in all the right proportions! Nash and McIver were wonderful, their creepy chemistry was enthralling to say the least. I didn't enjoy the addition of Sarah too much but it was a wonder to see the adoration and torture in the eyes of Christopher for his love of Cathy. Julion was disappointing but entertaining nonetheless. Carrie's character though short lived was done quite well even though her death didn't really tug at my emotional strings.In conclusion I think that Nash, McIver and Graham were a delight and they are the main reason that I gave this movie a 7. I am intrigued to see how they will bring Jory and Bart's outlook to the screen in If There Be Thorns...
cnycitylady
Petals on the Wind is the second installment of Lifetime's V.C. Andrews Flowers in the Attic series. It picks up ten years after the kids escape from the dreaded Foxworth manor, and you see that they have grown into the Dresden Dolls that they were always meant to be, but they still cannot escape all that the attic turned them into or the storm that is brewing because of it.The story is slightly altered and rearranged from the original narrative but the essence of the story, struggle and characters are all there in full. Cathy (Rose McIver) and Chris (Wyatt Nash) are grown with the careers they've always wanted, but are still trying to overcome their attraction to each other. They know it's wrong and you (the viewer) know it's wrong but we're all rooting for love to win out. The movie really pulls you in and you laugh and pout as the ensuing tale unravels. Ellen Burstyn once again shows the sympathetic side to the evil old woman and McIver does a fine job showing the resentment and passion that Cathy could not hide. (Nash was a bit unfeeling as Christopher, but he looked the part spectacularly) This movie was not as well written or acted as the first installment but at this point you don't really care because you are already invested in what happens to these unfortunate kids. The twists, manipulations and corruptions throughout it are funny, shocking, sad and inevitable all at once. It's a fine sequel that does justice to the continuing tale. 7/10
Melissa Lawrenson
This was absolutely awful. I guess it may pass if you haven't read the books but I would assume it would be rather hard to follow considering how choppy the movie was. They attempted to fit too much into much too little time. It should've been split into two separate movies. Everything was wrong, small and large. Let's start with the fact that they took away EVERYTHING involving Paul. The opening scene is his funeral and the timeline is all off. The movie seems confusing because Cathy seems to run away with a guy she has met once and then proceeds to let him abuse her, in the book she knows him for YEARS and he repeatedly tries to court her and then she runs away with him and marries him because she believes Paul has deceived her. Also, she DOES become a big dancer and thats part of why she is so hesitant to leave! She believes she will ruin her career that she has worked so hard to build. And I feel I should mention that while Julian is a good portrayal of cruelty in the movie, he never once apologizes to her and attempts to rectify it as he does in the movie. He eventually purposefully stomps on her toes breaking them to ruin her career, he does die as in the movie although she is not with and he dies later at the hospital after she tells him of the baby and he kills himself. Cathy's whole plot against her mother is accurate but she does love Bart, they play it out like it was just a ruse but she did fall for him.Carrie's storyline is similar to the book so I will give them that, she is abused by the girls at school and teased for her size although it is not right. Also she does hook up with Julian but this is found out right before her death and Chris never knew, and that whole fight scene was made for the movie. She does kill herself due to her mother denying her and the donuts were accurate although she is not dead when they find her, they take her to the hospital although she does not pull through.Christopher's entire thing was wrong. He did propose to Sarah. He never even dates any girl seriously because he can't get find anyone because he always wants Cathy. And no one ever knows about Christopher and Cathy except Julian suspects.The last point I will make is that Corinne was portrayed poorly. She does not purposefully kill her mother and she does not renovate Foxworth Hall. She actually had been following her children's lives. Cathy was a famous dancer and Corinne quite frequently went to her shows. And the grandmother did not feel remorse as they showed in both Flowers and Petals. The whole thing with Cory's body was eerie but no where near accurate.I can't even go on, the point is the movie was horrible, I loved the books and frankly the movie just didn't deliver. The movie could have been well executed but even the moments that were good were vastly overshadowed by the inaccuracies and the really big "wow" moments didn't have as much impact due to being rushed.