Where the Heart Is

Rating

Director

Matt Williams

Screenplay

Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel (Novel: Billie Letts)

Length

2h 0m

Starring

Natalie Portman, Ashley Judd, Stockard Channing, Joan Cusack, James Frain, Dylan Bruno, Sue McCormick, Keith Davis, Ray Prewitt, Laura Housek, Karey Green

MPAA Rating

PG-13

Review

PREFACE:
In the early 2000s, I was writing reviews for an outfit called Apollo Guide Reviews. That website has since been closed down.

Attempting to reconstruct those reviews has been an exercise in frustration. Having sent them to Apollo Guide via email on a server I no longer have access to (and which probably doesn’t have records going back that far), my only option was to dig through The Wayback Machine to see if I could find them there. Unfortunately, while I found a number of reviews, a handful of them have disappeared into the ether. At this point, almost two decades later, it is rather unlikely that I will find them again.

Luckily, I was able to locate my original review of this particular film. Please note that I was not doing my own editing at the time, Apollo Guide was. As such, there may be more than your standard number of grammatical and spelling errors in this review. In an attempt to preserve what my style had been like back then, I am not re-editing these reviews, which are presented as-is.

REVIEW:
Love often finds people when they’re not looking for it. That’s what happens to Novalee Nation ( Natalie Portman) when she is left holding the bag at an Oklahoma Wal-Mart.

Novalee thinks she’s got it made when she and her boyfriend Willy Jack (Dylan Bruno) decide to travel to California and fulfill their dreams. Her first thrill of the trip comes when she learns that the car Willy bought for 80 dollars doesn’t have the number five on the license plate – she’s a superstitious young woman. However, when she stops at a Wal-Mart, her fear of the number five is stirred right up when the cashier gives her change in the amount of $5.55. In a panic, she dashes out to the parking lot to find that this has, indeed been an unlucky day – she’s been abandoned by Willy Jack.

Thus begins Novalee’s hellish journey into the real world which is made easier by three people: Thelma ‘Sister’ Husband Oscar nominee Stockard Channing), the local welcome wagon, who takes her in; Lexie Coop ( Ashley Judd), a kind and eternally-knocked-up nurse, who becomes her friend; and Forney Hall ( James Frain), a librarian with a heart of gold, who helps deliver her baby, Americus (Mackenzie Fitzgerald).

Novalee lives through love and heartache as she becomes a stronger woman in this uplifting romantic drama. Novalee is strong emotionally, as is Portman professionally, as she continues to prove her talent. Along for the ride is the equally talented Judd whose performance is both touching and funny.

Channing does what she does best, as does two-time Oscar winner Sally Field who appears all-too-briefly as Novalee’s mother. Both experienced actresses help forge a stronger ensemble. The men of the cast (Frain and Bruno) are weaker, but nonetheless intriguing.

This movie’s title sums it up effectively. The phrase tells us that the heart must be the ultimate source of all that we do. If it isn’t, our lives will remain empty and unfulfilled. Where the Heart Is examines the relationships that can both link and destroy a life. It reminds us that without friends to see us through the bad times, we can’t find the good times. And with friends like Novalee’s, you can discover what you’ve missed and in return, help them build on their own successes.

Love is much more than just an emotional attachment between two lovers; it’s also a bond between friends that only strengthens over time. Where the Heart Is proves to be an inspiring journey into the heart, revealing an inner feeling of peace and serenity through love.

Review Written

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