Cast: Susan Sarandon, Natalie Portman, Eileen Ryan, Ray Baker, John Diehl, Shawn Hatosy, Bonnie Bedelia
Director: Wayne Wang
Producer: Laurence Mark
Screenplay: Alvin Sargent, based on the novel by Mona Simpson
Cinematography: Roger Deakins
Music: Danny Elfman
U.S. Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Trailblazing is not one of the qualities anyone would ascribe to Anywhere But Here, the new motion picture from Wayne Wang (working from a script written by Alvin Sargent, based on Mona Simpson's novel). Yet, although the overall trajectory of the storyline follows a comfortable, easily guessed-at path, there is nevertheless something fresh and enjoyable about spending two hours in the company of Adele August (Susan Sarandon) and her teenage daughter, Ann (Natalie Portman). With this outing, Wang affirms that he is one of a few male directors capable of bringing a film to the screen that focuses on credible, intelligent female characters.
I liken Anywhere But Here to a painting - a landscape, in fact. From a distance, it looks like one of a hundred similar pictures - some trees, a stream, and maybe a dilapidated old barn. The impulse is to pass it by and move onto something more interesting. But, when you get close and start looking at things, the richness of the detail becomes apparent. Every blade of grass stands out; each twig and leaf is vividly depicted. The strength of Anywhere But Here isn't the admittedly familiar plot, but the way in which Wang effectively captures the nuances of his characters and the minutiae of their environment - factors that too many filmmakers regard as inconsequential.
The film opens (however briefly) in Bay City, Wisconsin, where Adele and Ann are loading up the car to leave. Adele is anxious to get on the road, but Ann is heartbroken about leaving behind her friends and stepfather. The mother/daughter cross-country sojourn to Beverly Hills does not get off on the right foot - Ann views Adele's actions as tantamount to kidnapping. At first, it appears that Adele's motives are selfish. She's restless and being stifled by life in a small town. However, while those things are true, her main motivation - which we don't recognize until later in the proceedings - is every parent's goal: to offer her child a better life. The problem is, Adele thinks she knows what's best for Ann when she may not, and the thought of consulting her daughter on the matter never occurs to her. So, she heads to California with the intention of getting a job as a teacher and starting up Ann's acting career. But there's a problem - Ann wants to go to college and has no interest in entering show business.
As I indicated before, the plot of Anywhere But Here offers very little that's new or surprising. In fact, another film being released this fall, Tumbleweeds, tells almost exactly the same story. Where this movie excels, however, is in character development. Adele and Ann are both vividly realized. Susan Saradon is undeniably one of the most respected actresses of her generation, and she transforms Adele from a name on a screenplay into a vivid, colorful woman. Despite being a domineering individual, Adele is surprisingly sympathetic, primarily because we understand that, no matter how badly she behaves and how completely she denies reality, there's still a core of vulnerability underneath all the bluster, and it's not difficult to see the depth of her love for her daughter. (At one point, speaking about Ann, Adele tells someone, "She's the reason I was born.") Meanwhile, this is the first post-Phantom Menace role for Natalie Portman. Portman has been wonderful in a number of earlier productions (ranging from her debut in Luc Besson's The Professional to Ted Demme's Beautiful Girls), but, because of the Star Wars film, she is no longer toiling in obscurity. Here, she shows the kind ability denied to her by the constraints of The Phantom Menace, but evident in everything else she has done. She creates an instant sense of identification between the audience and Ann.
The mother/daughter interaction is a tempestuous tug of war. In emotional terms, something of a role reversal is in play, with Ann being the sensible, responsible one and Adele needing grounding. Ann wants stability and normalcy, but Adele is incapable of providing either. So Ann views her mother as irresponsible, impractical, and tyrannical - and not without reason. And, since we see the story from her perspective (complete with a voiceover that works because it's restrained and not overused), that's often our impression of Adele, as well. But Ann also catches enough glimpses beneath Adele's façade to recognize the loneliness and uncertainty hidden there. Adele does not live for herself - she lives for her daughter, and the thought of losing Ann is her greatest fear.
One of the best sequences in the film comes when Ann and Adele return to Bay City for a visit. For Ann, what should be a homecoming of sorts turns out to be a strange experience. Her relationships with her friends have cooled and she begins to recognize what Adele saw when she decided to hit the road. In her voiceover, Ann remarks, "The streets didn't seem as wide, the trees seemed lower and the houses smaller." And someone else remarks to her, "I think if you would have stayed, you'd be just like your mom - always wanting to go away."
There are times when Anywhere But Here becomes uncomfortable because of the rawness of emotions it churns up. On one occasion, Adele butts her way into an audition she has forced Ann to take, and sees her daughter performaing a cruel mimickry of her. At another time, Adele miscontrues a night of casual sex for something more meaningful, with painful and embarrassing results. For the most part, Wang keeps the movie's tone light and playful, but, in moments such as these, he allows the audience to feel the characters' discomfort.
This is Wang's second excursion into the "chick flick" market. His previous such outing, 1993's acclaimed The Joy Luck Club, established him as a director to watch. Although Anywhere But Here will appeal more to female viewers than to males, it's unfair to pigeonhole Wang as a "woman's director." What he shows here is that he understands the workings of the human heart and knows how to bring them to the screen with sensitivity and grace. Although men cannot have firsthand experience with the mother/daughter bond, they should not dismiss the movie - well-made pictures like this cross the boundaries between sexes.
© 1999 James Berardinelli