Anywhere But Here

"Anywhere But Here" is the story of a mother who is a bit flighty and adventurous, and her daughter who is more down to earth and practical.

First off, I'd like to say that Natalie Portman gets better and better every movie I see her in. She is an enormous talent, and continues to get better as the years go on. She really held her own and managed to shine brightly, even against a talent as large as Susan Sarandon.

Ms. Sarandon is still no slouch either. She portrays Adelle August, a mother who desires more for her daughter than small town life in Wisconsin. She suddenly packs up one day and leaves it all behind, dragging her unwilling daughter (Ann) with her to Beverly Hills. She plays this role with a pure passion, making you believe that she is indeed, in spite of all her flaws and errors in judgement (the electric is repeatedly turned off due to forgotten bills) that she really is trying the best she can for her daughter.

Natalie Portman, as I stated earlier, is phenomenal. Her character of Ann is believable, even though we first meet her at 14 (Ms. Portman is 17) She plays the uprooted, resentful, but loving and loyal child to the fullest extent, without ever feeling forced.

While there is a good supporting cast, they are overshadowed by the presence of Susan and Natalie, and while they are all good, well crafted characters, the focus is clearly on the two stars. Notice a role put in by Ashley Johnson, as Ann's friend in California. Those of you who remember the show "Growing Pains" will remember her as the youngest Seaver child before that show was (mercifully) cancelled.

If I have to have one complaint about this movie, it's that it was a bit too long. At 113 minutes, it tends to drag a bit and has a couple scenes that are either overlong or could have been edited out. But those really are few and far between.

"Anywhere But Here" is a very strong, believable look at mothers and daughters, as well as the complexity of all family relationships. It is a skillful and subtile tearjerker (as evidenced by my friend and an entire theater full of teen girls and adult women crying during two pivital scenes). It avoids the trap of coming off heavy handed. To loosly quote the old saying, you will laugh, you will cry. Often in the same scene.

4 out of 5

Susan Sarandon has amply shown that she is capable of turning her hand to most kinds of rôles and is especially adept at teaming up with youngsters. This is no less so in this film with the prodigious Natalie Portman: the two keep the film interesting when almost everything else is a rather blasé prêt-a-porté production, mostly due to Wayne Wang's rather uninspired directing, as well as a music score that has very little to do with the proceedings and did nothing to fill in any stop-gaps.

The film is saved precisely by the Sarandon-Portman tandem providing an energetic display of a mother, divorced, skidding along frenetically almost hysterically, and her adolescent daughter trying to keep her young head on her shoulders and pointing in the right direction. The result is an interesting clash of personalities, veering from the dramatic to the humorous in a style which is not far from being a `road-movie'. Indeed, frequently, reminiscences of `Thelma and Louis' come to mind as the film unfurls, though `Anywhere but Here' is several rungs lower down on the ladder.

Even so, my vote is slightly higher than the IMDb average. Hopefully we shall be able to enjoy a true drama with these two ladies in the future, but with a more exiguous director – Stephen Daldry, perhaps?

This movie is powerful in the sense that it successfully employs the mother-daughter relationship in a not so stereotypical situation. However I wouldn't recommend it as a "let's rush to see it at the movies" movie, it's more a video movie. Susan Sarandon is brilliant as Adele August as she adds all the characteristics of a mother who wants to pursue her dreams and protect her daughter at the same time. Natalie Portman does a great job as Ann August showing the maturity her character possess, however I think there were too many tears on her part as in practically every scene that was shown she's be crying !! But I thought it was a fine movie

Natile Portman and Susan Sarandon play off of each other like a symphony in this coming of age story about a young girl, who is sentenced to life as the daughter of one of the nuttest women you will ever encounter. Sarandon has this ability, call it talent if you will, to play some of the most off-beat characters and bring their humanity to forefront of any film she makes. As the mother of this obviously brilliant and muture beyond her years young girl, Sarandon alternates between being the mom and being the child with the ease of a ballet dancer. More importantly she does it with strength and flare without stomping all over Portman's portrayal of the daughter. The question is always asked when we deconstruct the film plot, who changes? This film is certainly about the daughter, but if you look close at the dreams and sacrifices that Mom makes you come to understand that she changes in step with her daughter. I am willing to bet this makes all of us in the audience change also. The hallmark of fine drama

Wayne Wang's direction may be the ingredient which made this film much more impressive to me than "Slums of Beverly Hills", which covers remarkably similar ground. The interplay between Susan Sarandon and Natalie Portman is riveting. Real chemistry there. This film succeeded in bringing me inside the dysfunctional life of these two women without dragging me down into depressed frustration. Susan Sarandon's character hammers at all the nerves which a narcissistic parent is capable of touching in an insecure adolescent. She amazingly manages to do this without coming across as floridly insane or intentionally sadistic. And, Natalie Portman deflects each attack on her character's ego with the resigned grace of an intelligent codependent child, untainted by the smug cynicism of the Natasha Lyonne character in "Slums of Beverly Hills". Portman's character is an adolescent with dignity under stress, an unusual creature in modern films. The film reaches a very satisfying resolution without trying too hard. I highly recommend this film to the viewer who wants to be challenged and entertained.