Pictures of Hollis Woods is a Hallmark channel made-for-TV drama. As such, you can't expect a masterpiece, but this one is well above the ordinary. The film is based on the novel by Patricia Reilly Giff and stars Jodelle Ferland in the role of Hollis. As the story is told from Hollis' point of view, Jodelle is present in nearly every scene.

Hollis Woods is an orphan girl, abandoned as a baby. At the age of twelve she has been through several foster parents, but never found a place she could call home. Having been moved from one family to another repeatedly, she has grown hesitant to let herself become attached to people, and tries to shield herself by keeping emotionally distant with new people. At the same time, she's hungry for acceptance and love, and is very capable of giving affection in return.

The story begins as Hollis is brought by Edna, her social worker, to stay with Mrs. Josie, an elderly woman who will take care of Hollis for a while. However, it turns out, that Josie is forgetful and becomes increasingly disoriented, likely suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer's.

As the relationship between Hollis and Josie develops we see several flashbacks of Hollis' previous summer. She had been invited to spend the summer at the cottage of the Regan family, who had recently lost a child of their own. After a slow start, Hollis and the Regans become emotionally attached, and it seems that Hollis will finally get a real family that she loves. Then, however, something terrible happens for which Hollis blames herself. She runs away from the Regans and refuses to return. This is the situation when she meets Josie.

Between flashbacks the relationship between Hollis and Josie solidifies, and they grow to love each other. Eventually Edna realizes that Josie is unwell, and decides that it's time for Hollis to find a new home. Hollis, not wanting to get hurt again, devises a plan to run away with Josie.

The strength of this movie is found within the relationships between Hollis and both Josie and the Regans. In each case, Hollis finds herself coming to love them. The film does a fair job playing to the viewer's emotions, such as when Hollis runs away from the Regans, or when she escapes with Josie. Perhaps the strongest scene is when John Regan invites Hollis back into his family while Hollis only ignores him, nearly throwing away everything she loves.

Although Pictures of Hollis Woods is clearly not a blockbuster and is, at times, merely on par with your average loosely-based-on-some-true-story drama, it has a strong touch as it nicely portrays the relationship between two very vulnerable people: a lonely orphan girl and an elderly woman suffering from dementia brought on by Alzheimer's.

Most of the extras on the DVD, including a small biography of Jodelle, are just text. The most notable extra is a fifteen minute making-of, which unfortunately hardly features Jodelle.

Jodelle is a fine actress who unfortunately is often typecast either as a victim or ghost-girl in productions based on scary or disturbing plot lines (not that those aren't enjoyable). Pictures of Hollis Woods is one of the few movies where she proves that she is capable of much more.

While the movie has the marks of a routine production, this is Jodelle's most refined role to the date, with the possible exception of her role in Tideland. She makes a convincing young orphan struggling to find love, but the mediocre directing and dubious production value keeps the performance merely in the "good" category.

Nevertheless, Jodelle has always been an interesting, unique actress, with exotic looks, big, penetrating eyes, and expressive face. She is perhaps the only reason to see Pictures of Hollis Woods, but it is a very compelling reason indeed.