Tumbleweeds

Mary Jo Walker is constantly on the road. She moves from state to state as one relationship ends and she heads out looking for another. Her daughter is used to the unsettled lifestyle but starts to feel at home in her new school once she gets a lead role in the school play. Mary Jo gets herself a job and a new boyfriend, trucker Jack, however how long will it be before problems put her on the road again?

As a concept, this film lacks originality - the plot and the characters will be recognisable from other films, but that in itself is not a bad thing as nothing is ever totally unique (well, rarely). That said, this film still manages to be enjoyable and engaging thanks to a well written script that gives us characters and not caricatures combined with some very good performances to deliver them. The story relies heavily on the characters and this really does a good job of bringing those out to the strength of the film. It struggles towards the end with a bit of sentimentality that betrays what has gone before but mostly it is pretty true to itself.

The writing allows Mary Jo to be a complex character but yet one that we can understand and sympathise with even if we can't empathise. Likewise her relationship are real rather than just being one-dimensional - with Jack we can easily see the major problems between them but we can also see what drew them together. This works because the film has the cast to deliver these characters well. McTeer was Oscar nominated for this film and she deserved t hat at least. Her thunder was stolen a year or so later by Roberts' doing a similar performance but in a bigger film (thus more kudos). She is very good and she made the film. Brown is just as good and isn't the `cute kid' that can kill movies. Sanders has the worst role and he knows it - his white knight threatens the whole film but it is not his fault. O'Conner gets the triple by being good as Jack as well as doing the business with directing and writing.

Overall, I wasn't sure if I'd like this film as generally the genre doesn't always do it for me, but here the performances really bring a well written script to live. It doesn't quite know what to do with itself towards the end and risks it's integrity a bit but mostly it is very good and worth seeing.

The other review of this film misses the point entirely. There is indeed tension, of the emotional variety, between daughter and mother. The child is the adult and the adult is child-like. One always hopes for the mother to make the right decision, to turn her and her daughter's life around. The performances are of the highest caliber, as is the writing, and the direction complements both beautifully, never getting in the way of the simple story. Watch this with a parent, a son, a daughter...a rewarding viewing experience.

The premise of a film about a mother and 12 year-old daughter on the road is not necessarily attractive to everyone. But this was a refreshing example of the genre, mainly because the director allowed character development. Mother and daughter have characteristics both endearing and infuriating (like all of us; something that Hollywood so often forgets) and, as a result, we're not forced to take sides with one against the other. Rather we find ourselves looking out for opportunities for them to both lead a more stable existence. Inevitably in a film of this nature there must be a great temptation to play on sentimentality and help boost Kleenex sales. But fortunately that doesn't happen; in fact the only tearful moment comes from one of the male characters recounting the loss of his wife. The two leads react well to each other, something which was essential for the film to work.

An entertaining approach to the genre for which the viewer doesn't have to suspend rationality.

British actress Janet McTeer gives a convincing, first-rate performance as a Southern woman and man-lover who can't find a good guy to love. She and her preteen daughter drive from one state to the next, lighting in a motel room somewhere until a local romance blooms--and then high-tailing out of town when it predictably blows up. Soon after arriving in Southern California, McTeer's Mary Jo Walker finds a decent job, begins making friends, and sees her daughter excelling in school for the first time; however, a new relationship with a sexy but volatile trucker may put everything on the rocks. What starts out as a generic road movie--with hints of "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" besides--becomes an absorbing, intimate character portrait. McTeer (who resembles Laurie Metcalf) isn't your typical tramp or "lover of life"; she isn't unstable, and she's a good mother, but what she's trying so hard to get (a husband and a real home) doesn't always respond to her in kind. We see Mary Jo trying her damnedest to make her life work, eventually falling into familiar patterns but this time learning from her mistakes. The finale is rose-colored and probably not credible, but the optimistic nature of Gavin O'Connor's screenplay (co-written with Angela Shelton), as well as his perceptive direction, makes the journey a fun, embraceable ride. **1/2 from ****

I urge all film lovers to see -Tumbleweeds-. The relatively unknown cast, director and screenwriter(s) blew me away! This film is a gift of fantastic proportions wrapped in plain, brown paper, so tear into it and see what's awaiting you beyond the simple plot of serial-monogamist mother and almost-fully-teenaged daughter fleeing the scene of yet another bad breakup, and heading West to find a new home. I was gripped by Janet McTeer's powerful performance, and unusual character, from the first scene. I cannot imagine anyone not being similarly bowled over. The supporting cast will also surprise and delight you--why can't all young actors be as natural as Kimberly Brown? Rent it today! :-)