Anywhere but Here

viewed December 3, 2000 on video  Full Details

Wayne Wang mails in this episodic, paint-by-numbers mother-daughter story that calls his directing talents to question. Exhibit A: an uncharacteristically histrionic performance by the normally irrepressible Susan Sarandon, here overacting as a neurotic starstruck single mother trying out a new life in Beverly Hills. The real standout in this otherwise mediocre melodrama is Natalie Portman, who demonstrates tremendous emotional control as the responsible half of the family. A far finer movie could have resulted if Wang had offered more complexity to mother as well as daughter.

Home