Where the Heart Is (2000 film)
Encyclopedia
Where the Heart Is is a 2000
drama
/romance film
directed by Matt Williams and produced by Susan Cartsonis
, David McFadzean, Patricia Whitcher and Matt Williams. Filmed in Austin, Texas
, and Waco, Texas
at Baylor University
. The movie stars Natalie Portman
and Ashley Judd
. The screenplay, written by Lowell Ganz
, is based on the best-selling novel
by Billie Letts
.
The film follows Novalee Nation, a pregnant 17-year-old girl from Tennessee, who sets out for California with her boyfriend. When they stop in Oklahoma at the local Walmart, her boyfriend abandons her. Since Novalee has only a few dollars, she secretly moves into the Wal-Mart store. She gives birth to her baby, attracting media attention, and she sets up a new life with the help of new friends. The film was released by 20th Century Fox
on April 28, 2000.
) sets off on a road trip from Tennessee
to California
with her ignorant ne'er-do-well boyfriend, Willy Jack Pickens (Dylan Bruno
). In Sequoyah, Oklahoma, Novalee asks her boyfriend to stop at Wal-Mart
so that she can go to the bathroom and replace her shoes. When Novalee reaches out for her change at the register, the amount of $5.55 sends her into a panic and she runs outside to find that her boyfriend has left (Novalee believes that the number 5 is a sign of trouble or an event of significance is to come).
For the rest of the afternoon, Novalee browses Wal-Mart. She meets Sister Husband (Stockard Channing
), who mistakenly believes Novalee to be her long-lost relative, Ruth Ann, and gives her a buckeye
tree. Later that evening, Novalee feels sick and runs into the bathroom to vomit, and when she comes out again she discovers that the store is closed, locked, and dark. She soon figures out how to live undetected in the Wal-Mart.
Novalee visits the library and meets Forney Hull (James Frain
), who works at the library while caring for his sister (the librarian), whose health has been ruined by alcoholism
. Over time, Forney reveals that he dropped out of Bowdoin College
in Maine and tells Novalee that he had wanted to be a history teacher before he had to leave school. Novalee goes to Sister Husband's house and explains that she is not Ruth Ann. However, Sister Husband invites her in to stay for some cornbread
and buttermilk
, and Novalee plants the buckeye tree in Sister's yard.
That night in the Wal-Mart, Novalee wakes up during a thunderstorm when she starts feeling pain in her stomach. Her water breaks and, while attempting to clean it up, she goes into labor
. Forney (who watched her go into the store at closing time) jumps through a plate-glass
window and helps deliver her baby. The next morning, Novalee wakes up in the hospital, and became an instant celebrity after giving birth in a Wal-Mart. All day she is stalked by several newscasters. After being asked by her nurse Lexie Coop (Ashley Judd
) what she will name her baby girl, Novalee decides to name her baby Americus. Novalee gets to know Lexie, who reveals that she has had four children by three different men. While in the hospital, Novalee gets a visit from her mother (Sally Field
), whom she has not seen since she was a child. Her mother asks if she has a place to live. Novalee says no, and her mother says that the two women can get an apartment together. Novalee hands over the $500 that she was given by the President of the Wal-Mart chain to her mother. Novalee agrees that her mother can come pick her and Americus up at 9:00 a.m. the next day. The next morning, Novalee waits for almost three hours in the lobby, but her mother never shows up. That afternoon, Sister Husband offers to let Novalee and the baby live at her house.
Her boyfriend Willy Jack Pickens is shown trying to make it as a country singer, and is hired by agent Ruth Meyers (Joan Cusack
).
A few years pass, and Novalee begins a career as a photographer with the help of her friend Moses Whitecotton (Keith David
), whom she met at the Wal-Mart the day she was left behind. One day, when a tornado
blows through the town, Novalee and Americus hide in an underground shelter, but Sister is out running an errand and does not make it back in time. Sister is killed and their home is destroyed. After the funeral, a lawyer informs Novalee that she is the beneficiary
of Sister's estate, worth around $41,000. Novalee proceeds to build a new home for herself and Americus on Sister's land.
One day, Novalee receives a call from Brownie, Lexie's oldest child. Novalee cannot hear what he is saying, and eventually perceives that something bad has happened so she drives to Lexie's house. She finds Lexie in the bedroom with Brownie and Praline, covered in blood and bruised. Novalee permits Lexie and her now five children to live with her and Americus in their new house. Lexie tells Novalee that her new boyfriend had gone to her house and tried to rape her two oldest children, Brownie and Praline, before Praline had thrown up on him and Lexie returned home from work early and caught him before he got to Brownie. She attacked him, hitting him twice before he knocked her out. Lexie is at first devastated, but as time passes she and her children begin to heal, and she eventually marries the ordinary but reliable "Ernie the Exterminator" and has another child.
When Forney’s sister passes away due to alcoholism
and he does not appear to be at the funeral, Novalee finds him in a hotel and comforts him. Novalee and Forney end up having sex, after which he tells her that he loves her and she doesn't reply. Forney returns to Maine
to bury his sister, and the town's people make comments about how he can finally leave town and have a real life. When Forney comes back, he talks about visiting Bowdoin and Novalee realizes that he could now finish his education. Forney says he loves her and wants to get a factory job and stay with her, but Novalee lies, saying she does not love him, and he leaves.
On Americus's 5th birthday, Novalee picks up a newspaper and reads a story about a double amputee being robbed of his wheelchair
. The man proves to be Willy Jack, her now ex-boyfriend. She visits Willy in the hospital and he admits that he lied to her when he told her that he didn't feel the baby's heart beat the day he left her behind. Willy says he wishes he could go back and undo the lie, because of how one lie can change your whole life. Novalee realizes that she made a similar mistake lying to Forney. She drives Willy Jack home to Tennessee and then continues to Maine to find Forney at college. Novalee admits to him that she lied and that she really loves him and they return to Oklahoma to get married in a Wal-Mart.
Also, the character Benny Goodluck is left out of the film version.
. A soundtrack was released by RCA Records
.
"That's the Beat of a Heart" was performed by The Warren Brothers and featured Sara Evans
, the videoclip for the song featured a number of scenes from the film.
"Flies on the Butter" is played during the end credits and was written by Austin Cunningham.
was given credit for her portrayal of Novalee Nation, put simply by Roger Ebert
, that "Portman is quite an actress".
The film opened in theatres in the United States
on April 8, 2000. Where the Heart Is accumulated (USD)$8,292,939 in its opening weekend, opening at #4.
The film went on to make $33,772,838 at the United States box office, just over twice its budget. It made $7,090,880 in international box office, for a worldwide total of $40,863,718.
2000 in film
The year 2000 in film involved some significant events.The top grosser worldwide was Mission: Impossible II. Domestically in North America, Gladiator won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor ....
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
/romance film
Romance film
Romance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...
directed by Matt Williams and produced by Susan Cartsonis
Susan Cartsonis
Susan Cartsonis is an American film producer and the president of Storefront Pictures. She produced Firelight, Where the Heart Is, What Women Want, Aquamarine, and Beastly, and was the executive producer of The Mistress of Spices and No Reservations.-External links:*...
, David McFadzean, Patricia Whitcher and Matt Williams. Filmed in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, and Waco, Texas
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
at Baylor University
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
. The movie stars Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman
Natalie Hershlag , better known by her stage name Natalie Portman, is an actress with dual American and Israeli citizenship. Her first role was as an orphan taken in by a hitman in the 1994 French action film Léon, but major success came when she was cast as Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequel...
and Ashley Judd
Ashley Judd
Ashley Judd is an American television and film actress, who has played lead roles in films including Ruby in Paradise, Kiss the Girls, Double Jeopardy, Where the Heart Is and High Crimes...
. The screenplay, written by Lowell Ganz
Lowell Ganz
Lowell Ganz is an American screenwriter, television writer, and television producer. He is the long-time writing partner of Babaloo Mandel.-Life and career:...
, is based on the best-selling novel
Where the Heart Is (novel)
Where the Heart Is is a 1995 novel by Billie Letts. It was chosen as an Oprah's Book Club selection in December 1998. A 2000 film of the same name was directed by Matt Williams, starring Natalie Portman, Ashley Judd and Stockard Channing....
by Billie Letts
Billie Letts
Billie Letts is an American novelist and educator. She was a professor at Southeastern Oklahoma State University.-Family:She was married to professor-turned-actor Dennis Letts until his death in 2008, and is the mother of playwright/actor Tracy Letts, jazz musician/composer Shawn Letts, and Dana...
.
The film follows Novalee Nation, a pregnant 17-year-old girl from Tennessee, who sets out for California with her boyfriend. When they stop in Oklahoma at the local Walmart, her boyfriend abandons her. Since Novalee has only a few dollars, she secretly moves into the Wal-Mart store. She gives birth to her baby, attracting media attention, and she sets up a new life with the help of new friends. The film was released by 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
on April 28, 2000.
Plot
Seventeen and pregnant, Novalee Nation (Natalie PortmanNatalie Portman
Natalie Hershlag , better known by her stage name Natalie Portman, is an actress with dual American and Israeli citizenship. Her first role was as an orphan taken in by a hitman in the 1994 French action film Léon, but major success came when she was cast as Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequel...
) sets off on a road trip from Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
with her ignorant ne'er-do-well boyfriend, Willy Jack Pickens (Dylan Bruno
Dylan Bruno
Dylan Bruno is an American actor and former model. He portrayed FBI agent Colby Granger in the CBS series Numb3rs.-Personal life:...
). In Sequoyah, Oklahoma, Novalee asks her boyfriend to stop at Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
so that she can go to the bathroom and replace her shoes. When Novalee reaches out for her change at the register, the amount of $5.55 sends her into a panic and she runs outside to find that her boyfriend has left (Novalee believes that the number 5 is a sign of trouble or an event of significance is to come).
For the rest of the afternoon, Novalee browses Wal-Mart. She meets Sister Husband (Stockard Channing
Stockard Channing
Stockard Channing is an American stage, film and television actress. She is known for her portrayal of First Lady Abbey Bartlet in the NBC television series The West Wing; for playing Betty Rizzo in the film Grease; and for her role as Ouisa Kittredge in the play Six Degrees of Separation and its...
), who mistakenly believes Novalee to be her long-lost relative, Ruth Ann, and gives her a buckeye
Aesculus
The genus Aesculus comprises 13-19 species of woody trees and shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere, with 6 species native to North America and 7-13 species native to Eurasia; there are also several hybrids. Species are deciduous or evergreen...
tree. Later that evening, Novalee feels sick and runs into the bathroom to vomit, and when she comes out again she discovers that the store is closed, locked, and dark. She soon figures out how to live undetected in the Wal-Mart.
Novalee visits the library and meets Forney Hull (James Frain
James Frain
James Dominic Frain is an English stage and screen actor. He is possibly best known for his role in the Showtime series The Tudors in which he appeared as Thomas Cromwell from 2007 to 2009, and for his role as vampire Franklin Mott in season three of the HBO drama True Blood, as well as his role...
), who works at the library while caring for his sister (the librarian), whose health has been ruined by alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
. Over time, Forney reveals that he dropped out of Bowdoin College
Bowdoin College
Bowdoin College , founded in 1794, is an elite private liberal arts college located in the coastal Maine town of Brunswick, Maine. As of 2011, U.S. News and World Report ranks Bowdoin 6th among liberal arts colleges in the United States. At times, it was ranked as high as 4th in the country. It is...
in Maine and tells Novalee that he had wanted to be a history teacher before he had to leave school. Novalee goes to Sister Husband's house and explains that she is not Ruth Ann. However, Sister Husband invites her in to stay for some cornbread
Cornbread
Cornbread is a generic name for any number of quick breads containing cornmeal and leavened by baking powder.-History:Native Americans were using ground corn for food thousands of years before European explorers arrived in the New World...
and buttermilk
Buttermilk
Buttermilk refers to a number of dairy drinks. Originally, buttermilk was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cream. It also refers to a range of fermented milk drinks, common in warm climates where unrefrigerated fresh milk otherwise sours quickly...
, and Novalee plants the buckeye tree in Sister's yard.
That night in the Wal-Mart, Novalee wakes up during a thunderstorm when she starts feeling pain in her stomach. Her water breaks and, while attempting to clean it up, she goes into labor
Childbirth
Childbirth is the culmination of a human pregnancy or gestation period with the birth of one or more newborn infants from a woman's uterus...
. Forney (who watched her go into the store at closing time) jumps through a plate-glass
Flat glass
Flat glass, sheet glass, or plate glass is a type of glass, initially produced in plane form, commonly used for windows, glass doors, transparent walls, and windshields. For modern architectural and automotive applications, the flat glass is sometimes bent after production of the plane sheet...
window and helps deliver her baby. The next morning, Novalee wakes up in the hospital, and became an instant celebrity after giving birth in a Wal-Mart. All day she is stalked by several newscasters. After being asked by her nurse Lexie Coop (Ashley Judd
Ashley Judd
Ashley Judd is an American television and film actress, who has played lead roles in films including Ruby in Paradise, Kiss the Girls, Double Jeopardy, Where the Heart Is and High Crimes...
) what she will name her baby girl, Novalee decides to name her baby Americus. Novalee gets to know Lexie, who reveals that she has had four children by three different men. While in the hospital, Novalee gets a visit from her mother (Sally Field
Sally Field
Sally Margaret Field is an American actress, singer, producer, director, and screenwriter. In each decade of her career, she has been known for major roles in American TV/film culture, including: in the 1960s, for Gidget or Sister Bertrille on The Flying Nun ; in the 1970s, for Sybil , Smokey and...
), whom she has not seen since she was a child. Her mother asks if she has a place to live. Novalee says no, and her mother says that the two women can get an apartment together. Novalee hands over the $500 that she was given by the President of the Wal-Mart chain to her mother. Novalee agrees that her mother can come pick her and Americus up at 9:00 a.m. the next day. The next morning, Novalee waits for almost three hours in the lobby, but her mother never shows up. That afternoon, Sister Husband offers to let Novalee and the baby live at her house.
Her boyfriend Willy Jack Pickens is shown trying to make it as a country singer, and is hired by agent Ruth Meyers (Joan Cusack
Joan Cusack
Joan Mary Cusack is an American film, stage and television actress. Throughout her career, Cusack has appeared in many films as well as appearing in stage productions....
).
A few years pass, and Novalee begins a career as a photographer with the help of her friend Moses Whitecotton (Keith David
Keith David
Keith David Williams , better known as Keith David, is an American film, television, voice actor, and singer. He is perhaps most known for his live-action roles in such films as Crash, There's Something About Mary, Barbershop and Men at Work...
), whom she met at the Wal-Mart the day she was left behind. One day, when a tornado
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
blows through the town, Novalee and Americus hide in an underground shelter, but Sister is out running an errand and does not make it back in time. Sister is killed and their home is destroyed. After the funeral, a lawyer informs Novalee that she is the beneficiary
Beneficiary
A beneficiary in the broadest sense is a natural person or other legal entity who receives money or other benefits from a benefactor. For example: The beneficiary of a life insurance policy, is the person who receives the payment of the amount of insurance after the death of the insured...
of Sister's estate, worth around $41,000. Novalee proceeds to build a new home for herself and Americus on Sister's land.
One day, Novalee receives a call from Brownie, Lexie's oldest child. Novalee cannot hear what he is saying, and eventually perceives that something bad has happened so she drives to Lexie's house. She finds Lexie in the bedroom with Brownie and Praline, covered in blood and bruised. Novalee permits Lexie and her now five children to live with her and Americus in their new house. Lexie tells Novalee that her new boyfriend had gone to her house and tried to rape her two oldest children, Brownie and Praline, before Praline had thrown up on him and Lexie returned home from work early and caught him before he got to Brownie. She attacked him, hitting him twice before he knocked her out. Lexie is at first devastated, but as time passes she and her children begin to heal, and she eventually marries the ordinary but reliable "Ernie the Exterminator" and has another child.
When Forney’s sister passes away due to alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
and he does not appear to be at the funeral, Novalee finds him in a hotel and comforts him. Novalee and Forney end up having sex, after which he tells her that he loves her and she doesn't reply. Forney returns to Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
to bury his sister, and the town's people make comments about how he can finally leave town and have a real life. When Forney comes back, he talks about visiting Bowdoin and Novalee realizes that he could now finish his education. Forney says he loves her and wants to get a factory job and stay with her, but Novalee lies, saying she does not love him, and he leaves.
On Americus's 5th birthday, Novalee picks up a newspaper and reads a story about a double amputee being robbed of his wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
. The man proves to be Willy Jack, her now ex-boyfriend. She visits Willy in the hospital and he admits that he lied to her when he told her that he didn't feel the baby's heart beat the day he left her behind. Willy says he wishes he could go back and undo the lie, because of how one lie can change your whole life. Novalee realizes that she made a similar mistake lying to Forney. She drives Willy Jack home to Tennessee and then continues to Maine to find Forney at college. Novalee admits to him that she lied and that she really loves him and they return to Oklahoma to get married in a Wal-Mart.
Differences between Novel and Film
In the novel:- Novalee finds the number 7 unlucky.
- Sister Husband has blue hair.
- Lexie marries Leon Yoder (Ernie the Exterminator was not in the novel.)
- Novalee hears from Willy Jack when Americus is seven years old.
- Forney does not return to college; instead he travels around the nation. He eventually settles in Chicago and begins working in a bookstore.
- Forney and Novalee did not get married.
- Lexie and her children are obese. She is constantly trying new fad diets and weight loss schemes.
Also, the character Benny Goodluck is left out of the film version.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Natalie Portman Natalie Portman Natalie Hershlag , better known by her stage name Natalie Portman, is an actress with dual American and Israeli citizenship. Her first role was as an orphan taken in by a hitman in the 1994 French action film Léon, but major success came when she was cast as Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequel... |
Novalee Nation |
| Ashley Judd Ashley Judd Ashley Judd is an American television and film actress, who has played lead roles in films including Ruby in Paradise, Kiss the Girls, Double Jeopardy, Where the Heart Is and High Crimes... |
Lexie Coop |
| Stockard Channing Stockard Channing Stockard Channing is an American stage, film and television actress. She is known for her portrayal of First Lady Abbey Bartlet in the NBC television series The West Wing; for playing Betty Rizzo in the film Grease; and for her role as Ouisa Kittredge in the play Six Degrees of Separation and its... |
Thelma 'Sister' Husband |
| Joan Cusack Joan Cusack Joan Mary Cusack is an American film, stage and television actress. Throughout her career, Cusack has appeared in many films as well as appearing in stage productions.... |
Ruth Meyers |
| James Frain James Frain James Dominic Frain is an English stage and screen actor. He is possibly best known for his role in the Showtime series The Tudors in which he appeared as Thomas Cromwell from 2007 to 2009, and for his role as vampire Franklin Mott in season three of the HBO drama True Blood, as well as his role... |
Forney Hull |
| Dylan Bruno Dylan Bruno Dylan Bruno is an American actor and former model. He portrayed FBI agent Colby Granger in the CBS series Numb3rs.-Personal life:... |
Willy Jack Pickens |
| Keith David Keith David Keith David Williams , better known as Keith David, is an American film, television, voice actor, and singer. He is perhaps most known for his live-action roles in such films as Crash, There's Something About Mary, Barbershop and Men at Work... |
Moses Whitecotton |
| Sally Field Sally Field Sally Margaret Field is an American actress, singer, producer, director, and screenwriter. In each decade of her career, she has been known for major roles in American TV/film culture, including: in the 1960s, for Gidget or Sister Bertrille on The Flying Nun ; in the 1970s, for Sybil , Smokey and... |
Mama Lill |
| Margaret Hoard | Mary Elizabeth Hull |
| Mackenzie Fitzgerald | Americus Nation |
| Ray Prewitt Ray Prewitt Ray Prewitt is an American actor, producer, and aircraft broker. He is a graduate of Texas A&M University where he interned in the genetics lab at the veterinary school's exotic animal clinic and was a crew chief for the now infamous Aggie Bonfire. Ray is never seen on stage or screen without his... |
Tim |
| Cody Linley Cody Linley Cody Martin Linley is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his recurring role as Jake Ryan in the television series Hannah Montana and for being a contestant on the seventh season of Dancing With The Stars, in which he was partnered with Julianne Hough.-Career:Linley made his acting... |
Brownie Coop |
Music
Original music for the film was produced by Mason DaringMason Daring
Mason K. Daring is an American musician and composer of scores for film and television. He has worked on nearly all the films directed by John Sayles, adapting his style to fit whatever period in which the film is set.-Biography:Daring began his music studies in fourth grade, playing trumpet,...
. A soundtrack was released by RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
.
"That's the Beat of a Heart" was performed by The Warren Brothers and featured Sara Evans
Sara Evans
Sara Lynn Evans is an American country singer and songwriter.Evans was one of the few traditional-styled singers to emerge from Nashville in the late 1990s, according to Allmusic. Since emerging in the late 1990s, Evans has made five No. 1 Country hits and Gold and Platinum-certified albums by...
, the videoclip for the song featured a number of scenes from the film.
"Flies on the Butter" is played during the end credits and was written by Austin Cunningham.
Reception
Natalie PortmanNatalie Portman
Natalie Hershlag , better known by her stage name Natalie Portman, is an actress with dual American and Israeli citizenship. Her first role was as an orphan taken in by a hitman in the 1994 French action film Léon, but major success came when she was cast as Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequel...
was given credit for her portrayal of Novalee Nation, put simply by Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
, that "Portman is quite an actress".
The film opened in theatres in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on April 8, 2000. Where the Heart Is accumulated (USD)$8,292,939 in its opening weekend, opening at #4.
The film went on to make $33,772,838 at the United States box office, just over twice its budget. It made $7,090,880 in international box office, for a worldwide total of $40,863,718.
External links
- Where the Heart Is at Boxofficemojo.com