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SherryBaby (2006)
  • Caption: SherryBaby (2006)
  • Description: Gyllenhaal plays Sherry Swanson, a former heroin addict who has just been paroled from prison after serving three years for petty theft. She's trying to put her life back together and, in particular, re- establish her relationship with her daughter, who is now 5 and has been living with her brother and sister-in-law. (The child's father is long gone.)
    Her character generates empathy. Viewers can't help but be sympathetic to the difficulties faced by a young parolee -- living in a group home of ex-convicts; reporting to an overworked, hard-nosed parole officer; trying to get a job; dealing with renewed cravings for drugs and alcohol, and working out a new relationship not only with her daughter but with her relatives who have cared for and grown to love the little girl.

    Yet Sherry is hardly a saint, and despite the hardships she faces she can't escape her own self-destructive tendencies. In a raw and unsparing performance, Gyllenhaal lets us see the hair-trigger temper, the promiscuity and the sharp-tongued brazenness masking the low self-esteem and neediness that most likely got Sherry into trouble years earlier and that place her in jeopardy again.

    The self-protective narcissism that probably enabled Sherry to survive prison makes her ill-equipped to recognize the new relationship her daughter, Alexis, played by the very natural Ryan Simpkins, has made with her brother Bobby (Brad William Henke) and sister-in-law (Bridget Barkan). Henke is terrific as a loyal brother torn between the love he retains for his troubled and troublesome sister, his love for his wife, who has given Alexis the affection and nurturing the little girl needs, and his own love he has developed for the child.


    Directed by
    Laurie Collyer

    Writing credits
    (WGA)
    Laurie Collyer (written by)



    Cast (in credits order) complete, awaiting verification

    Maggie Gyllenhaal ... Sherry Swanson
    Michelle Hurst ... Dorothy Washington
    Sandra Rodríguez ... Desi

    Anna Simpson ... Sabrina

    Giancarlo Esposito ... Parole Officer Hernandez
    Caroline Clay ... Parole Officer Murphy

    Rio Hackford ... Andy Kelly

    Brad William Henke ... Bobby Swanson
    Bridget Barkan ... Lynette Swanson

    Ryan Simpkins ... Alexis Parks

    Stephen Peabody ... Mr. Monroe

    Danny Trejo ... Dean Walker
    Sam Bottoms ... Bob Swanson Sr.
    Kate Burton ... Marcia Swanson

    Steven G. Smith II ... Zak
    Vivianne Bucher ... Genesis Woman
    Michael Dillon ... Child at Birthday Party
    Helen Coxe ... Rest Stop Mother
    Jayden Vargas ... Rest Stop Child
    J.D. Jackson ... Job Trainer
    Allie Woods Jr. ... Bus Driver
    rest of cast listed alphabetically:
    Rose Pasquale ... AA Member (uncredited)
    Martin Pfefferkorn ... Shooting Gallery Junkie (uncredited)
  • Actor/Actress/Director:
  • Movie: Sherrybaby
  • Id: 10862640
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