Stranded (ATOM Study Guide)

In a family grieving the death of a loved one, how long does it take before the abnormal seems normal? Loss, love and family values are all up for re-negotiation in this unusual black comedy about a girl trying to start a new life a year after her mother's suicide. Seventeen-year old Claudia (Emma Lung) lives in a world of no job, no school, and no money. She has crazy, territorial fights with her younger sister, Penny (Emily Browning), who is becoming increasingly involved in stealing and drugs. Their father, Rex (Robert Morgan), simply will not get off the couch and struggles to care for the girls as he copes with his own grief.

When two children are dumped on the family, Claudia moves into her mother's abandoned car in the driveway. She plans to fix it and leave her family once and for all, but when she falls in love with the cute kleptomaniac, Cam (David Hoflin), she is forced to confront her fears and comes face-to-face with mother's decision to end her life. Will Claudia choose life? Stranded explores complex social issues through the eyes of a teenager determined to carve her own path as she copes with a family tragedy.