Where the Heart Is

Natalie Portman Director: Matt Williams Matt Williams

Overview

Matt Williams' quirky coming-of-age film Where the Heart Is makes its way to DVD with a solid 1.85:1 widescreen anamorphic transfer. There is an English soundtrack in Dolby Digital 5.1 as well as English and French tracks in Dolby Digital Surround; subtitles are available in both English and Spanish. In addition to a variety of theatrical trailers and television promotional spots, the disc contains the music video "That's the Best of a Heart" by the Warren Brothers featuring Sara Evans.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/26/2000
UPC:	0024543006350
Original Release:	2000
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	20Th Century Fox
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Surround, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Time:	2:00:00
Sales rank:	12,485

Special Features

"That's the Beat of a Heart" music video by The Warren Brothers featuring Sara Evans; Trailers and TV Spots; Anamorphic widescreen (aspect ratio: 1.85:1); Audio: English 5.1 surround, English Dolby Surround, French Dolby Surround; Subtitles: English, Spanish

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Natalie Portman	Novalee Nation
Ashley Judd	Lexie Coop
Stockard Channing	Sister Husband
Joan Cusack	Ruth Meyers
James Frain	Forney Hall
Dylan Bruno	Willy Jack Pickens
Keith David	Moses Whitecotten
Sally Field	Mama Nell
Richard Jones	Mr. Sprock
Dennis Letts	Actor

Technical Credits

Lowell Ganz

Babaloo Mandel

Matt Williams	Director,Producer
Matt Earl Beesley	Art Director,Asst. Director
Lisa Brown	Musical Direction/Supervision
Susan Cartsonis	Producer
Ian Crafford	Editor
Mason K. Daring	Score Composer
Melinda Eshelman	Costumes/Costume Designer
Carmen Finestra	Executive Producer
Mali Finn	Casting
Gerrit Folsom	Co-producer
John Frick	Art Director
Lowell Ganz	Screenwriter
Hank Garfield	Sound/Sound Designer
Richard Greatrex	Cinematographer
Rick Leed	Executive Producer
Diane Minter Lewis	Co-producer
Babaloo Mandel	Screenwriter
David McFadzean	Producer
Paul Peters	Production Designer
Janet Stokes	Set Decoration/Design
Roz Weisberg	Associate Producer
Patricia Whitcher	Producer

Scene Index

Side #1 --
1. Going to California [1:22]
2. Shopping for Shoes [4:07]
3. Bad Luck [1:45]
4. Moving In [6:48]
5. A Sick Tree [1:49]
6. A Wal-Mart Baby [6:05]
7. A Big Celebrity [4:42]
8. The Welcome Woman [1:26]
9. Forney [1:54]
10. A Christmas Story [10:38]
11. Ruth Meyers [1:19]
12. A Tornado [1:24]
13. Sister's Estate [7:55]
14. Making an Enemy [2:18]
15. Back Home [6:30]
16. Bad News [5:00]
17. Love [2:16]
18. Rock Bottom [3:55]
19. Something Better [3:03]
20. End Titles [2:41]

Menu

Side #1 --
   Play Movie
   Scene Selection
   Language Selection
      Spoken Languages: English 5.1 Surround
      Spoken Languages: English Dolby Surround
      Spoken Languages: French Dolby Surround
      Subtitles: English
      Subtitles: None
   Special Features
      TV Spot
      Music Video
      Trailer A
      30 Promotional Spot

Editorial Reviews

Winsome Natalie Portman, in her first bona fide starring vehicle, lights up the screen as the plucky heroine of this warm, engaging drama, adapted from a well-received novel by Billie Letts. She plays an uneducated Southern teenager named Novalee Nation, impregnated and eventually abandoned by a callow rock-star wannabe. After giving birth in a Wal-Mart, Novalee takes up residence in a small town and acquires a group of friends that includes a hard working single mom (Ashley Judd), a Bible-quoting tippler (Stockard Channing), and an eccentric young librarian (James Frain). Former sitcom director Matt Williams takes his audience on an emotional roller-coaster ride with these immensely likable characters; we soar to blissful heights and plummet to the darkest depths at their side. But even when buffeted by tragedy, Novalee and her friends retain an essential optimism, a belief that gain invariably follows loss, which lifts their spirits and eventually brings tranquility. Guaranteed to stir the emotions, Where the Heart Is stops just short of cloying sentimentality, thanks largely to the carefully calibrated performances of its capable cast.

Barnes & Noble - Ed Hulse