Plot: What’s it about?
Based on the best-selling novel by Billie Letts, Where the Heart Is seemed to get lost in the shuffle when it was released in theaters. I personally got it confused with Anywhere But Here, as they both starred Natalie Portman and both are easily dismissed as “chick flicks”. However, the writing is very stong and from the same hand comes other movies like “City Slickers” and “A League of Their Own”, only one of which could remotely qualify as a “chick flick”. While the cast of Where the Heart Is, is almost entirely women, a few men do grace the screen. Appearances by Sally Field (don’t blink, or you’ll miss her), Stockyard Channing and Ashley Judd offer a strong backbone to an already immensely talented Natalie Portman. Set in Sequoha, Oklahoma, Where the Heart Is tells the story of Novalee Nation. Novalee is 17, and literally barefoot and pregnant. She is left by her “boyfriend” as she enters a Wal-Mart to get some sandles. Where the Heart Is follows her and we see her grow up by herself and try to put the pieces of her life back together.
As mentioned above, Novalee Nation (Natalie Portman) is a young, unmarried girl who is left at a Wal-Mart in the middle of Oklahoma. Having no food, money or family, she is forced to literally live inside the Wal-Mart for a period of around six weeks. Though it never really goes into a lot of detail, Novalee has a very fond hatred of the number “5” (when she was five, her mother left her…therefore 5 is bad). We see that though educated, she still stumbles through books and it’s hard to imagine how to cope with what Novalee is going through. Thelma “Sister” Husband (Stockyard Channing) mistakes Novalee for an old friend of the family and ends up being the only family that she has. Though her role is somewhat of a comic relief from the fierce realism of the rest of the film. Together with Sister, Novalee starts to get her life back toghether. Time passes (though Novalee still looks the same), and after her brief fame as the “Wal-Mart” Mommy (she gave birth to her child inside a Wal-Mart), Novalee’s life is back to normal…or as normal as it can get. On somewhat of a tangent, the movie also follows Novalee’s boyfriend who abandoned her. He has made his way to Nashville and is on the way to be a Country music singer, under the guise of Joan Cusack’s character. Though his ways get the better of him, and let’s just say that he gets about what he deserves.
While Where the Heart Is certianly has it’s audience, it’s something that I would recommend. Natalie Portman has a very bright future ahead of her, and the addition of Ashley Judd to the cast gives it that much more “star power”. While the DVD is a bit lacking on extras, it does have a few to look at. Fans of the best-selling book will not be disappointed (except for the casting of Ashley Judd as Lexie, who was physically the opposite of how Ashley Judd looks), as it’s a pretty good transfer from novel to movie. It’s not an easy movie to watch, though. It’s very realistic and not a lot of good things happen to Novalee or those around her. The acting is good, as is the storyline and it’s worth, at the very least, a rental.
Video: How does it look?
Where the Heart Is is shown in it’s original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and is enhanced for widescreen TV’s. Fox has stuck to their guns with their renewed commitment to giving anamorphic support where need be. The image, overall, has a very sharp look and feel to it. While not reference quality, it really leaves me with nothing to say. To say that it’s “average” just isn’t right, as compared to most movies out there, it looks very good. Of course, most movies that are new to DVD have the benefit of a brand new master to go by, so it makes sense that it will only look as good, if not better, than it did in theaters. On the whole, another solid effort by Fox.
Audio: How does it sound?
Essentially a dialogue-driven movie to be sure. Where the Heart Is does have it’s moments where the audio can shine. A tornado scene, obviously the most active audio track in the movie, takes the cake as the sound comes close to that of Twister…well, not really, but it still sounds very good. The 5.1 track is well-dispersed throughout the film and has a very solid quality about it. Dialogue is clean and lacks any distortion. Nothing to show off your system off to, but it benefits from when it released. As usual, the 5.1 track must be selected off the menu, instead of defaulting to the 5.1 track…a minor nitpick, but nothing to worry about.
Supplements: What are the extras?
As for extras, well, this is where the movie falls a bit short. In addition to the original theatrical trailer, there is also a music video by The Warren Brothers with Sara Evans “That’s the Beat of a Heart”. Not much more than that, but odds are if you’re watching the movie, you didn’t buy it for the extras…
