November 12, 1999 | Natalie Portman certainly
had her hands full with Darth Maul and other intergalactic bad guys
in Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace. But the immensely
talented young actress faces an even greater challenge in Anywhere
But Here. Wayne Wang's vividly detailed and richly amusing drama
-- based on Mona Simpson's well-regarded novel -- finds Portman vying
for audience attention with the megawatt-radiant Susan Sarandon in the
most compelling mother-daughter love-hate story since Terms of Endearment.
Sarandon plays Adele August, the kind of indefatigable free spirit who's
fun to watch in a movie, and hell to live with in real life. Chronically
bored with small-town life in Bay City, Wisconsin, she abandons her
insufficiently exciting husband and seeks rosier prospects
in Beverly Hills, California. Ann (Portman), her 14-year-old daughter
from an earlier union, would much prefer the stability of a traditional
home and family ties. But mom overrules any protests: "I know what
is best for you because that is my job."
So Adele takes Ann along for the long cross-country trek in a spiffy
1978 Mercedes, and more or less demands that her daughter embrace the
myriad possibilities of a brand new life. ("Now that we're in Beverly
Hills," she coos to her appalled child, "maybe you could change
your name to Heather.") During the next two years of their often
stormy relationship, Adele encourages Ann to be an independent-minded
risk-taker. But she's ill-prepared for the day when Ann really does
decide to strike out on her own.
Sarandon
is marvelously flamboyant as Adele, a self-delusional extrovert who
occasionally forgets about practical matters -- like paying the electric
bill -- while sustaining her joie de vivre through sheer force
of will. The beauty of her performance is that, even while she encourages
you to laugh at Adele's frantic avoidance of the ordinary, Sarandon
never lets you ignore the not-so-quiet desperation behind her smile.
Portman
is much subtler, but equally affecting, as a natural-born realist who
can't help seeing through Adele's impractical dreams, and who must sometimes
provide maternal advice to check her own mother's excesses. With her
artfully calibrated mix of affection and annoyance, indulgence and impatience,
Portman eloquently expresses the profoundly mixed emotions of a daughter
who knows that, for better or worse, her mother wants to be her very
best buddy.