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ANYWHERE BUT HERE Send This Review to a Friend
There is a searing moment of truth in "Anywhere But Here," the mother-daughter drama teaming Susan Sarandon and Natalie Portman, when the teenage Ann (Portman) finally gives in to her nagging desire and at the instigation of her girlfriends, who are gathered around her, phones the father she has never known. We don't see him but we hear the disturbance in his voice as he makes clear that he doesn't want her intruding on his life with a new woman and another child. It is a crushing blow for Ann and we read the emotional devastation in her eyes and in the reflected responses of her friends. It's one of the most powerful single scenes of any this year. Portman is extraordinarily talented and beautiful, and the young actress gives the film its primary strength throughout as well as in this telling magic moment.
That dominance may seem unusual in a film with the ever-remarkable Sarandon, who thoroughly realizes the flamboyant, larger-than-life character she plays as Adele, Ann's overbearing mom. The problem is that Adele is unrelievedly annoying, not only to her frequently embarrassed daughter, but to us. The film, directed by Wayne Wang and written by Alvin Sargent, is based on Mona Simpson's book, and what undoubtedly fired up Sarandon's interest is the complexity that is supposed to come through. Adele is a dreamer who wants to leave Bay City, Wisconsin, for greener pastures. Beverly Hills will do. She isn't willing to endure the staid, unpromising life for which everyone around her settles. But uprooting is not what Ann wants. She's been happy with her friends, in particular her cousin Benny (Shawn Hatosy), and she hates living in Beverly Hills under the makeshift conditions her mother's finances allow.
Adele believes moving is as right for her daughter as it is for her, but over-protectiveness instead of sensitivity to her daughter's emotional needs is how she shows her love, which might better be described as possessiveness. Adele is a bundle of insecurities masked by her happy-go-lucky but unrealistic belief that life will turn out right. Yet in effect she's more dependent on her daughter than her daughter is on her. In fact, while loving her mother, Ann is dying to break away and lives for that day.
Adele's steamroller manner becomes tiresome, as does her naivete with men. It is hard to believe that she can be so stupid, as inwardly desperate as she is, with respect to the significance she reads into what's really a one-night stand with a seducer. Despite Sarandon's bravura performance, this woman emerges more a pain than a tragic heroine, but Sarandon is always someone special to watch and Portman is an exciting young actress who should have a future in demanding, worthwhile roles far above the level of her previous Queen Amidala in the "Star Wars" prequel. A Fox 2000 Pictures release.
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