Sherrybaby wasn't the first independent-y recovering drug addict film of 07 and it does suffer slightly be being in the shadow of the superior Half Nelson. Sherry (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is a 23 year-old young former heroin addict coming out on the other side of a three year stint in prison. Returning to the home of her brother and his wife she finds that not only has her daughter been instructed not to call her 'Mommy' but she also seems to have developed a certain fear around Sherry. Desperately yearning some normality, Sherry finds that reality and her ideals rarely come into contact with one another.
Writer/director Laurie Collyer has written Sherry a rocky road to redemption, shoehorning in backstory of parental abuse that does disservice to Gyllenhaal's flawless performance. It's not a typically grandstanding role, which is perhaps why she was ignored in last year's Oscar noms, but it's a performance that stays with you long after you've seen the movie itself. By turns childlike, frustrated, sexy and desperate it goes to show that Gyllenhaal may just be able to edge past her more famous brother in the acting stakes. It's this performance that lifts the film above the mediocre and marks out Gyllenhaal as one of the best American actresses working today.
