The Dead Girl is a 2006 film written and directed by Karen Moncrieff starring Toni Collette, Brittany Murphy and Marcia Gay Harden. The film was nominated for several 2007 Independent Spirit Awards awards including Best Feature and Best Director. The story revolves around the death of a young woman (played by Murphy) and the characters linked to her murder.

Cast

• Toni Collette as Arden
• Brittany Murphy as Krista Kutcher
• Rose Byrne as Leah
• Marcia Gay Harden as Melora
• Mary Beth Hurt as Ruth
• Kerry Washington as Rosetta
• James Franco as Derek
• Giovanni Ribisi as Rudy
• Josh Brolin as Tarlow
• Piper Laurie as Arden's mother
• Nick Searcy as Carl
• Mary Steenburgen as Beverley, Leah's mother
• Bruce Davison as Leah's Father

Plot

The Dead Girl is a quintet of stories about seemingly unrelated people whose lives converge around the murder of a young woman (portrayed by Brittany Murphy). The characters in the film are linked not only by their connection to her murder, but also by the difficult hand that life has dealt them. The film scrutinizes their inner struggles to overcome or surrender to their misfortunes.