12 Films You've Never Heard Of With 100% On Rotten Tomatoes
11. Bastard Out Of Carolina (1996)
The Film: This poignant and powerful drama documents the struggles of a young girl subjected to a childhood full of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of a man her mother refuses to leave. Ruth Anne Boatwright (nicknamed "Bone" due to her mother being in a car crash right before giving birth) falls victim to her mother's selfish desires as she chooses her abusive husband over her suffering daughter, a decision that makes the horrifying climax all the harder to watch.
What The Rotten Tomatoes Critics Said: Anjelica Huston was applauded for handling the graphic abuse contained in Dorothy Allison's novel with aplomb, using just the right mix of tact and truthfulness while entering some pretty difficult territory. The debuting director also drew praise for the way she committed herself to avoiding the stereotypes associated with those struggling to make ends meet in the post-war southern states, an angle that Rotten Tomatoes reviewer Godfrey Cheshire found refreshing:
"It concerns much besides child abuse. Set in Greenville, S.C. (though filmed in Wilmington, N.C.), not long after WWII, the story looks behind Tobacco Road cliches to evoke the complex weave of love, hardship and family bonds that conditioned the life of poor whites in the days before New South prosperity kicked in."