Newspaper Article

The fall movie season

Claudia Puig, Andy Seiler, Susan Wloszczyna and Josh Chetwynd

1999

Overview

To people who know movies, fall is the get-serious season. And certain directors signal especially exciting filmmaking -- from established veterans like Michael Mann, Martin Scorsese and Wayne Wang to emerging talents like Atom Egoyan. /BLOCKQUOTE Why this movie matters: Wang established his ability to capture complex relationships between women -- specifically mothers and daughters -- with The Joy Luck Club and again fashions fully rounded performances. He says that he is drawn to \"very simple, character-driven movies\" and that because he is an immigrant he observes things as only an outsider can: \"I'm always kind of on the outside looking in.\" The story he's telling: [Susan] Sarandon, often cast in strong, stalwart roles, plays against type as a ditzy, self-centered mother who is hellbent on getting out of Wisconsin and moving to Beverly Hills. [Natalie] Portman, who plays the more mature of the pair, is the teen-age daughter who often gets her mother out of a jam. Her mother drags her along on the journey, and both grow up in the process.

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