life imitating art imitating life

"Your relationship is...inappropriate," one of Carolyn's sadly superficial sorority sisters says to her in the course of "Pumpkin", and that statement sums up this superbly uncategorizable exercise to perfection.

Nothing about "Pumpkin" is appropriate, from the soundtrack choices (the music in the fight scene between Pumpkin and Kent in particular), the casting (it was a near-shock to see Dominique Swain with her clothes on through the entire film for openers), the story itself and the shamelessly ambiguous manner in which it's presented. It works, though, thanks to a supremely conflicted and tender performance from Christina Ricci and the simplicity, sensitivity and sincerity of Hank Harris' interpretation of the title character. Life isn't just one thing, it's all things all at one time sometimes. Just like this movie.