Leofwine_draca PETALS ON THE WIND is the follow up to the glossy TV movie adaptation of the Virginia Andrews novel FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC and I'm sure it was shot at the same time as it shares most of the cast members and has exactly the same kind of glossy look and feel. Unfortunately, with Ellen Burstyn off screen for large parts of the running time, it's a weaker film than its predecessor, which really wasn't all that hot to begin with.This story is set ten years after the events of the original and follows the lives of the siblings as they attempt to cope in the normal world. The focus of PETALS ON THE WIND is on relationship stuff, with copious screen time made up of depicting the siblings in their relationships with new partners and the struggles they face thanks to the psychological scarring they experienced in the first story. The acting is generally sub-par and unrealistic, no more so than Heather Graham whose increasingly shrill character has become more of a caricature. Burstyn is great but needed much more screen time, although the final scenes provide a fitting close to this two-part story. Inevitably, another sequel followed.

edwagreen This is so morbid. It is so depressing. After the prequel, "Flowers in the Attic," the author should have stopped there.Everything is depicted as being so negative here. Lust, incestuous relationship between brother and daughter, cruelty abounds and one tragic sequence after another. Even at the end, when things look like they have resolved themselves, one begins to wonder what else is new.After all, we have witnessed a brother and sister in love, the youngest sister taunted by classmates and locked in a closet. Anyone notice how quickly that issue was resolved? The latter about to marry a minister but finding rejection once again by her mother commits suicide. This drives the oldest sister to plot revenge by getting involved with the mother's new husband and becoming pregnant from him. If that isn't enough, the oldest daughter enters into an abusive relationship with a ballet dancer who also went after the younger sister.Not missing are illegitimate children. Where is the morality in this wayward writing?

cnycitylady Petals on the Wind is the second installment of Lifetime's V.C. Andrews Flowers in the Attic series. It picks up ten years after the kids escape from the dreaded Foxworth manor, and you see that they have grown into the Dresden Dolls that they were always meant to be, but they still cannot escape all that the attic turned them into or the storm that is brewing because of it.The story is slightly altered and rearranged from the original narrative but the essence of the story, struggle and characters are all there in full. Cathy (Rose McIver) and Chris (Wyatt Nash) are grown with the careers they've always wanted, but are still trying to overcome their attraction to each other. They know it's wrong and you (the viewer) know it's wrong but we're all rooting for love to win out. The movie really pulls you in and you laugh and pout as the ensuing tale unravels. Ellen Burstyn once again shows the sympathetic side to the evil old woman and McIver does a fine job showing the resentment and passion that Cathy could not hide. (Nash was a bit unfeeling as Christopher, but he looked the part spectacularly) This movie was not as well written or acted as the first installment but at this point you don't really care because you are already invested in what happens to these unfortunate kids. The twists, manipulations and corruptions throughout it are funny, shocking, sad and inevitable all at once. It's a fine sequel that does justice to the continuing tale. 7/10

Crazynat34 When we were young women hiding our VCA books and only daring to read by night light when everyone had gone to bed, never at that time by any stretch of the imagination could it be a conceivable idea to actually transfer those story lines to film. Considering the sheer amount of content in Petals it was incredible they were able to piece so much of it into the 2 hour slot. Unfortunately, they left out some important "gasp" moments from the book such as the miscarriage. I also felt they did a good job with the nature of the content considering it is a made for TV movie. Overall, the writers and director did a great job for what they had to work with. It was a great way to bring the genius of Andrews to an audience that hasn't read her books. If the the book enthusiast are looking for an exact account then you should know from the beginning there is no way to make a movie that captures what the book draws from the imagination. After all most people are much more comfortable reading story's like the Dollanganger Series in the privacy of their own minds.