Anywhere But Here (Full Screen)
by Wayne Wang
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Eileen Ryan, Hart Bochner, Natalie Portman, Ray Baker, Susan SarandonDirector: Wayne Wang
Brand: Fox
Cinematographer: Roger Deakins
Editor: Nicholas C. Smith
Producer: Ginny Nugent
Producer: Laurence Mark
Producer: Petra Alexandria
Writer: Alvin Sargent
Writer: Mona Simpson
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 114 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-08-27
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Movie Reviews of Anywhere But Here (Full Screen)
Movie Review: Flawed, But Very Endearing Characters
Summary: 5 Stars
In some ways, this movie is a real masterpiece. One of its really strong merits is that it does not try to pretend that a single mother (Sarandon) and her daughter (Portman) are so perfect. It shows that people can be loving and endearing even though they aren't perfect.
Right away we see that there is tension between Sarandon (who really isn't through living for herself) and her daughter Portman who thinks a little more about what she does. Though she can be a brat sometimes. (One moment is when in a restaurant, she orders more than she knows her mother can afford.)
Throughout the story, we are inclined to think that Sarandon should not have had a child. One tragic flaw is that when one of them is ready to open up, the other isn't. Sometime Sarandon isn't ready, and sometimes Portman isn't. (Tragic timing) Portman desperately tries to tell her mother to stop chasing a man who isn't interested in her anymore. (After one "night," he lost interest.)
In one really sad moment, we see Portman auditioning for a role, and she accidentally shows her mother the kind of person she is. But despite Sarandon's faults, we can see that Sarandon is heroic in that she did not abandon her daughter. In an especially tragic moment, we see that Portman's father has no interest in her. So, we must at least grant that Sarandon had some sense of responsibility.
In his brief role, the kind policeman is memorable. In his 2 scenes he helps both Sarandon and Portman. It is interesting that despite Portman's rebellious (sometimes understandable) attitude towards her mother, she is not ready to leave until they are at peace with each other.
While some PC movies try to always say 'mother knows best,' this movie shows that true love comes from knowing the flaws of each other and still being able to reach each other.
Summary of Anywhere But Here (Full Screen)
Adele is flashy, flirtatious dreamer. Her daughter Ann is a quiet, no-nonsense realist. On the surface, they're like oil and water, but deep down there are two of a kind. "Susan Sarandon is show-stopping" (The New York Times) and "Natalie Portman soars" (NY-1) in this funny and touching story about a mother who knows best and a daughter who knows better!In Wayne Wang's star-driven adaptation of Mona Simpson's tragicomic bestseller about a mismatched mother and daughter, fortysomething Adele August (Susan Sarandon) is every adolescent's nightmare: over- (or under-) dressed, always and loudly "on," forgetful of mundane matters such as bills, more colorful kid than reliable mum. In contrast, 14-year-old Ann (Natalie Portman) yearns for stability, roots, understated hues. Transplanted from Wisconsin small town and extended family to a Beverly Hills, California, address of choice for American Dreamers like Adele, Ann comes painfully of age--sometimes blighted but also enriched by the fictions of a charismatic parent afraid to be alone in the dark.
Wang has always shown a sure, caring hand when it comes to cross-generational angst (see Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart, The Joy Luck Club, Smoke). Here, he encourages Sarandon in a remarkably brave, exposed performance as an aging adventuress whose imagination continually outstrips her ability to make dreams come true, whose charm is both her ticket to ride and a dead end. Portman's pout of strained adolescent distaste soon wears thin, but when The Phantom Menace's kabuki princess momentarily thaws, she projects a lost child's terrible shock and confusion. Hollywood-sized and scripted by the numbers, Anywhere but Here lost ground to Tumbleweeds, a similarly themed but more nuanced indie (with Oscar-nominated Janet McTeer), and it can't hold a candle to Barbara Stanwyck's Stella Dallas (1937), top of the line in this particular genre. But for any daughter who's looked into her mother's face and--yikes!--seen a possible future, this trip's definitely worth taking. --Kathleen Murphy
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