Hey everyone hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving so on to Where The Heart Is. Ever come across a film while scanning through channels that you don't know what's all about but somehow has caught your attention. I came across this film and I slowly started to like it apparently being one of my personal favorite films.
We start off introduced to a pregnant Novalee Nation (played by Natalie Portman) on a road trip from Tennessee to California with her asshole boyfriend Willy Jack Pickens (played by Dylan Bruno). And the film will never let you forget how much of an asshole he is; so much so in fact that he LEAVES Novalee at a Wal-Mart in Sequoyah, Oklahoma. Hang on let me get my Tricorder here......yep a douchebag but don't worry the Karma faerie will get him soon enough. Now stranded, Novalee resource to stay the night at the Wal-Mart which I find that impossible considering the store may have security guards and cameras but I'll let that slide. We cut back to the asshole boyfriend picking some woman after her car broke down and immediately starts flirting with her. Well do we sure know this guy’s priorities stranding his pregnant girlfriend to pick up a new girl to pork; someone gives this guy the fucking asshole award. A little bit later he gets pulled over by the cops only to find out the woman robbed a Seven/Eleven and is fourteen years old and the two get arrested. Told you the Karma faerie was gonna get him. Cut to next day Novalee stops by at a public library and meets Forney Hull (played by James Frain) who's the librarian and doing his best Jeff Goldblum impersonation. Earlier in the film she meets Sister Husband (played by Stockard Channing) who gives her a Buckeye tree but starts to die out. So Novalee stops by at Sister's place to have it planted and looked after. Back at the closed Wal-Mart Novalee's water broke and goes into labor; she starts to give birth while Forney jumps through the window to help deliver the baby before the film cuts away. Cut to a hospital room where Novalee awakens and meets with Lexie Coop (played by Ashley Judd) apparently Novalee has become the talk of town as the Mother of the Wal-Mart baby. Yeah despite living in the Wal-Mart and practically stolen items they're actually OK with that. Reunited with her baby girl she names Americus she's then reunited with her mother (played by Sally Field) who when left Novalee when she was five. She offers to help out BUT instead being a complete bitch takes her money that she got from people and leaves her at the hospital. Jesus is everyone she knows in her life are total assholes to her? Sister arrives at the hospital and offers Novalee to stay at her place. Novalee gets back on her feet as she now works at the same Wal-Mart she lived in and is now friends with Lexie. Later at the library she tries reading books about photography as it established that she wants to be a photographer. And it's here we get a backstory on Forney as it turns out his sister is the librarian but is suffering health problems due to alcoholism. So he watches his sister as well as the library. It's December and Novalee and Forney are out getting a Christmas tree; Forney notices that Americus is five months old this gets Novalee worried and makes a mad dash to Sister's place. Since the start of the film it's established that Novalee has a high superstition of the number five. Back when she was five her mother left, when she worked at a restaurant a customer went crazy and stabs her in the arm getting 55 stitches to close the wound. So now she believes the number five is a sign of trouble or a negative event of significance is to come. Returning to Sister's place it's revealed that Americus is kidnapped. Now it turns out that a married couple from Midnight, Mississippi kidnapped Americus for not being born in wedlock. This was established back at the hospital when Novalee gets a letter from them and as they show up at Sister's place. OK so how did they know where she lives and also why take the initiative to kidnap a baby if you're just gonna leave the baby at a Christmas display in front of a church? Oh yes that's where the cops found Americus unharmed; WORST KIDNAPPERS EVER!
We cut to Wally...you know the asshole who left Novalee anyway he approaches to a music manager Ruth Meyers (played by Joan Cusack) for a chance to start a singing career. So he does and in a span of three years is singing in radio stations. We cut back to Sister's place as Novalee heads out to photograph at a wedding. Later a powerful storm approaches to Sequoyah and Novalee and Americus head to a shelter. Not knowing what's become of Sister's, Novalee tries to go find her but a tornado is already close by and she quickly gets back down to the shelter. In the aftermath it's revealed that Sister was killed in the tornado -_-. Cut to next day Novalee receives an estate that Sister left for her, everything from the land, the insurance on her trailer, and even life insurance. So with that she gets a new house built, so yeah LUCKIEST WOMAN EVER! Back to Wally he tries to get a better deal with another manager but the declines and leaves him. Wally is then approached by Ruth and long story short there's a falling out. Back at Novalee's she gets a call from Lexie's kids she notices something is wrong over the phone and heads to Lexie's. Upon arriving the place looks wrecked and Novalee find her all beat up. She invites Lexie and the kids to stay at her place. It turns out Lexie's new new boyfriend was attempting to molest her children but she managed to fight him off. More sad moments when Forney's sister passed away after keeping her alive for so long. Upon Novalee finding Forney at an apartment after the funeral the two make out. Forney admits to Novalee that he loves her but she doesn't seem to be so sure if she feels the same. Cut back to Wally drunken and pitiful wonders to some train tracks and trips on one and gets run over by a oncoming train...OUCH! A few months later at Americus's birthday Novalee noticed a newspaper about a legless man with his wheelchair stolen. Of course it's Wally and she goes to see him at a hospital the two make their peace on what happened five years ago and Novalee heads to Maine where Forney is attending college. She finally admits to him that she loves him and the film ends with the two getting married at the Wal-Mart of all places.
My Final Verdict: I love this film because of how real world it feels with the characters and the world of the film itself. The performances here are excellent from the actors even from the supporting actors. I felt like a change of pace was necessary after reviewing action, horror, and sci-fi films for a while so expect more films like this one in the future. But until then stay tuned next time as we look into the live-action adaptation of Blood: The Last Vampire.
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