Reunion (3 Stars)

"Holy cow! Look, an angel!"

These words announce Leelee Sobieski's appearance on stage in a nativity play shown in the psychological thriller "Reunion". The words are also appropriate to herald her debut in her first film, made in 1994 when she was only 11 years old.

In the same year, 1994, Leelee auditioned for the part of Claudia in "Interview with the Vampire", but was turned down in favour of Kirsten Dunst. That was the wrong choice, as we can see in retrospect. Kisten Dunst is a good actress, but Leelee Sobieski has developed into the best actress alive today. It's disturbing that she's received so little recognition. If the casting decision had fallen differently Leelee's career would have been kick-started and sent in a totally different direction. On the other hand, "Interview with the Vampire" is notable for being one of the worst cast films ever. Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise should have swapped roles to be more convincing, and picking Antonio Banderas to play Anand was utter stupidity. In the novel that inspired the film Anand is described as looking like a 16-year-old schoolboy with long blond hair. Arguably, neither Leelee nor Kirsten were appropriate to play Claudia, because she's a five-year-old child in the book.

The film "Reunion" is quite forgettable as a low budget Hallmark movie. It's not a bad film, but it's not good either. It's only worth watching if you're a Leelee Sobieski fan. It's about a farming family somewhere in rural America. The five-year-old son dies accidentally when a toy's cord gets wrapped around his neck and strangles him. In the following months the mother sees her son repeatedly, begging her to kill herself so they will be together again. Is he real or a figment of the mother's imagination?