Sherrybaby - Interview With Laurie Collyer

Posted July 26, 2006

Movies & TV - Director Laurie Collyer talks about some production issues specific to her film.

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 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.

• Star: Maggie Gyllenhaal
• Star: Brad William Henke
• Star: Sam Bottoms
• Star: Kate Burton
• Star: Giancarlo Esposito
• Director: Laurie Collyer
• Screenwriter: Laurie Collyer