Angela (1995)

Angela (1995) is the story of a 10-year-old girl who tries to cope with a mother who is seriously manic-depressive, instead of comically so, which would have been alright for a different movie. She’s basically an absentee mom to Angela and her five-year-old sister. Into this void falls religion, and Angela thinks her sister and she are responsible for mom’s madness due to some sinning on their parts. It’s a portrait of the cycle of abuse, which is very impactful and affecting, but what about the good stuff? There’s always good stuff. Even in the depths of despair and derangement we can look from our hobble in the gutter to the prospect of the stars above. And in his case we’re treated to the nutty mommy, played by Anna Levine, who shows off her kooky breasts and some batty buns having sex with her husband before being committed.