SAVED!
Released: May 28, 2004
When a girl (Jena Malone) attending a Baptist high school becomes pregnant, she finds herself ostracized and demonized, as all of her former friends turn on her. Mary (Jena Malone) gleefully attends a Catholic high school along with Hilary Faye (Mandy Moore). When her boyfriend (Chad Faust) admits to her that he thinks he's gay, she gets a supposed vision from Jesus to try to straighten him out. Mary has sex with him as a last resort and winds up pregnant. This causes a storm of controversey which results in some nicely framed cinematic jabs at religion and the people who blindly follow it. Malone is great here, further cementing her career portraying interesting characters. Moore plays a very unflattering Jesus-freak type character and I was impressed she'd take on such a role. Also starring Macaulay Culkin, Patrick Fugit ("Almost Famous"), Heather Matarazzo ("Welcome To The Dollhouse"), Eva Amurri (Susan Srandon's very nicely built daughter), Martin Donovan and Mary-Louise Parker. This is a smart film put out by a smart studio. I just hope people give it a chance.
92 Minutes
United Artists/MGM