''Melinda's World'' is a 2003 film adaptation of Marianne Kennedy's

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

, directed by David Baumgarten and is also

Zac Efron Zachary David Alexander Efron (; born October 18, 1987) is an American actor. He began acting professionally in the early 2000s and rose to prominence in the late 2000s for his leading role as Troy Bolton in the ''High School Musical'' trilo ...

's film debut.

Plot

Set in the American Midwest of the 1950s, Melinda (Jenifer Olivares), the eleven-year-old daughter of sour parents (Christina Raines and Thomas Michael Kappler), finds interest in small things: a spun silver

spiderweb A spider web, spiderweb, spider's web, or cobweb (from the archaic word '' coppe'', meaning "spider") is a structure created by a spider out of proteinaceous spider silk extruded from its spinnerets, generally meant to catch its prey. Spid ...

, her box of treasures, and an afternoon at Silver Lake on her "day of days". Melinda's often known as a "silly goose" by her best friend, Alice Wasser (Jennifer McClusky). As the movie progresses, Melinda experiences ageless comforts and pains. Eliot Bradley (Chad Stevens), a waylaid

college professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

s enters her life along with a warmhearted waitress (Ruth de Sosa), who introduces Melinda to the

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

and

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

. And she receives her first explorative attention from a teasing boy named Stuart Wasser (

). Escalating tragedy, the death of her beloved Aunt Calla (Mary McKowen), is climaxed by her father's eruption into angry

drunk Alcohol intoxication, also known as alcohol poisoning, commonly described as drunkenness or inebriation, is the negative behavior and physical effects caused by a recent consumption of alcohol. In addition to the toxicity of ethanol, the main ps ...

enness, shattering Melinda's innocence forever and sending her fleeing into the night. The ultimate triumph of Melinda's spirit culminates when at year's end she once again visits her treasure box with bittersweet memories.

External links

Allmovie.com listing
2003 films 2003 drama films American drama films 2000s American films {{2000s-drama-film-stub