Where The Heart Is

Date:   April 28, 2000

Cast:

Natalie Portman   Novalee Nation
Dylan Bruno   Willy Jack Pickens
Keith David   Moses Whitecotton
Stockard Channing   Sister Husband
James Frain   Forney Hull
Ashley Judd   Lexie Coop

Directors: Matt Williams 

Official Website: Where The Heart Is


The success of failure of a movie depends, in part, on the directors ability to translate their ideas and premise, into a vision with a message. Even if it is something we've seen before, which most good ideas have, the execution is what can differentiate the gems from the drivel. I have to wonder if director Matt Williams was asking himself “How many times can I beat the audience over the head with soap operatic drama situations before they fall into a saline-induced coma.”  Where The Heart Is comes at us from so many directions, never at once, but rather one right after the other.  As soon as we have recovered from one, we are hit with another, similar to boxing match.  We are jabbed, punched, KO’d, given a brief respite, then come at from a different angle.  It’s tolerable at first, but after awhile, just becomes way too much, and isn’t even saved by some wonderful performances.

Novalee Nation believes she’s had a cursed journey on her search for happiness.  All she wanted was a “home that didn’t have wheels”, someone to love her and to love back.  She believes she’s found both when she gets pregnant by Willy Jack Pickens (didn’t even have to make it up either) a self-serving, wanna be rock star who’s headed for Hollywood to make it big.  However, all is not meant to be a fairy tale. (if it was, it would have been a short movie, and I’d be done writing now).  Novalee is dumped at a Wal-Mart in a stereotypical small Southern town, full of every good kind of Hollywood stereotypical character in existence. You have the eccentric old woman (Channing, having a blast, and obsessed with confessing whoopee everyday), who takes her in and brings her into the mix of the small town.  Then you have the sweet nurse, with propensity for bad selection of partners. (Ashley Judd showing again, that a great actress can overcome a predictable script) She becomes the ongoing stability, but also another one of the traumatic, then predictable, story turns, that you hope the movie won’t take, but aren’t surprised by once it does.  There’s the kind hearted stranger (a wonderfully gentle Keith David) who, as required, provides Novalee with her purpose and way to succeed, and of course, the love interest, always known by being the only person in town around her age, who shuns at first, but then begrudgingly falls for her.  Mix all of these together now.  Throw in a deadly storm, spousal abuse, pedophilia, and a confusing concurrent story line about the boyfriends search for fame, which at least gave Joan Cusack another chance to shine and show her ability as a character actress. What do you get? A movie which doesn’t just pull at your heartstrings, it rips at them, like a 3-year on a newly found banjo. The only saving graces, were the performances listed above.  While they were not wholly original, they were very well done, and performed. Even Portman, who at least shows flashes of remembrance that she can be a good actress when not hidden under white make up and cavorting with that J character. She still has a lot of making up to for that menancing performance though.

Ultimately, Where the Heart Is wants to give us a message that what goes around, ultimately can come around, and good shall be rewarded.  It does this with a sledgehammer relentless approach that is almost laughable each time the plot takes it’s drastic turns.  I felt like I needed a seat belt, or a head guard to survive the swerves and punches that it dealt out.  Any one of the tragedies would have been enough, or even, here’s a novel idea, JUST focus on the girl, and how she overcomes, and makes a new life on her own.   Why does she have to overcome so much, to achieve.  Show a strong independent woman, who becomes this way by volition, and not just surviving and recovering.  Had the movie done that, it would have been a success.  As it is now, I would say stick with a season of Days of The Young and Loving, as it is more believable from the time frame standard at least. 

($$$ out of $$$$)

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