Petals on the Wind (2014)
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Ten years after escaping a horrific attic, the surviving Dollanganger children must navigate their trauma while one sister seeks a dark path of revenge.
The story
Ten years after escaping from Foxworth Hall, the surviving Dollanganger children—Cathy, Chris, and Carrie—attend the funeral of their adoptive father, Paul Sheffield. Still traumatized by their grandmother's abuse and their mother's betrayal, the siblings attempt to forge independent lives. Cathy becomes an aspiring ballet dancer, Chris enters medical school, and Carrie attends an elite high school. However, as they struggle to move on, Cathy finds herself drawn into a dangerous relationship with a dancer named Julian Marquet. Despite their efforts to live normal lives, the shadows of their past continue to haunt them, eventually leading Cathy to consider a vengeful plan against her mother, Corrine.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Ten years after escaping Foxworth Hall, Cathy, Chris, and Carrie attend their adoptive father's funeral. While Chris pursues medicine and Carrie faces bullying at school, Cathy pursues ballet and begins a relationship with Julian Marquet. Cathy and Chris briefly rekindle their secret, incestuous bond, but Cathy leaves for New York with Julian. Julian proves to be abusive, eventually injuring Cathy and ruining her ballet career. After Julian dies in a car accident, Cathy becomes pregnant with his child and later opens a ballet school. Meanwhile, Carrie falls in love with a minister but is rejected by her mother, Corrine. After Carrie commits suicide, Cathy seeks revenge by seducing Corrine's new husband, Bart Winslow. Cathy eventually confronts her mother and grandmother, Olivia, at a party. During the confrontation, the truth of the children's imprisonment is revealed. A fire breaks out, killing Corrine and Olivia. Six years later, Cathy and Chris are married in California with their children, while Corrine is institutionalized.
- First release year
- 2014
- Runtime (minutes)
- 85
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Karen Moncrieff
- Writers
- Kayla Alpert · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Heather Graham · Corrine Dollanganger-Winslow; Rose McIver · Cathy Dollanganger; Wyatt Nash · Chris Dollanganger; Bailey Buntain · Carrie Dollanganger; Ellen Burstyn · Olivia Foxworth; Ellia English · Henny Beech; Nick Searcy · Dr. Reeves; Whitney Hoy · Sarah Reeves
- Genres
- Drama; Romance; Thriller
- Themes
- Revenge; Trauma; Incest; Abuse; Family Secrets
- Tone and mood
- Dramatic; Dark; Melodramatic
- Premise and plot tags
- Sequel; Based on a novel; Family Drama
- Source material / true-story basis
- V. C. Andrews' 1980 novel of the same name, the second novel on the Dollanganger series.
- Franchise connections
- Dollanganger series
- Content notes
- Suicide
- Reception
- The film received a positive response from critics, with some noting it felt like a rush job but improved on its predecessor.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 64 · scale: 100
- Production trivia
- The film was rushed, leaving the lead actress only two weeks to practice ballet.; The film takes place ten years after the events of Flowers in the Attic.; The film was released as a single-disc DVD in 2015.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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