Deserto di Laramie

Keen adaptation of Richard Peck's novel "Don't Look and It Won't Hurt", starring Brooke Adams in a terrific performance as the single mother of two headstrong young daughters who hopes for a better existence outside their backwater town in New Mexico, but not knowing just how to go about finding it. Arty, intriguing showcase for some very fine actresses (Adams, Ione Skye and the inscrutable Fairuza Balk), as well as James Brolin in a small but telling role as the girls' dreamy-quiet, estranged father. Director Allison Anders, who also adapted the screenplay, does hit an awkward snag or two in exploring these characters' emotions, but her feel for Nowhere U.S.A. is rich with complexity. Moody and unusual, it's a film worth seeing. *** from ****

Allison Anders motivation in making this film may be obscure, but I'm glad she made it. This, her debut feature, runs like a meandering stream through rivulets of teenage angst and single-mother frustration in small town New Mexico. Maybe its' the Mexico bit that made this movie seem more foreign than traditional action-based, marketing-oriented, formulaic American movies.

I'd heard the term "trailer trash" via Jerry Springer and guests, but this female family of free (alright, forget the alliteration - three) are far from "trash", just down on their luck. The mother, Brooke Adams is a waitress on a low income trying to bring up her girls; the older one, Ione Skye, discovers through a fraternisation with a gallant, geologically quizzical Englishman (for once, not Hugh Grant), that relationships beat one night stands.

Ione's brother, Donovan Leitch, also appears in this film, but it is Fairuza Balk as the younger teenager, who is outstanding. She wants the best for her mother, which she has difficulty in securing, but her film-buff instincts and a predilection for Spanish movies, enable her to find fulfilment for herself.

The movie concludes in a somewhat enigmatic manner without all loose endings tied up. But hey, when in life are any loose endings tied up? Our end, like this film's, leave us wanting more.

I admit I am biased- I have always loved Ms. Adams since "The Dead Zone"...Stephen King at his earliest, and best.

This film is quirky and interesting. It is one of the few actually worth buying on DVD. Not just for the performances, which are excellent, by the way.

The visuals are noteworthy. New Mexico, the Southwest; a visual palette reminiscent of the artist Georgia O'Keefe. Beautiful photography, and a dysfunctional family trying to survive- two young girls living with their disillusioned mother.

This film addresses a niche which is not mainstream, but real...disappointed Americans living and working , trying their best, yet opposed by the realities. This film deserves 10/10- a must see.

GAS FOOD LODGING (1992) *** 1/2 Brooke Adams, Ione Skye, Fairuza Balk, Donovan Leitch, Robert Knepper, James Brolin, David Lansbury, Jacob Vargas. Delightful and at times melancholy story of a single mother raising her troubled daughters as a truck stop waitress. Balk is winning as the introverted younger sibling who has a penchant for Spanish melodramas and '70s nostalgia. Directed nicely by Allison Anders, her debut.

This film was the reason I became a film maker. Period. It is very inspiring to watch, with superb acting, quiet character building and developing. The film grabs you and pulls you into a small New Mexico town setting. You become completely engrossed with the story and the characters. It takes time to develop personalities within the female leads and the viewer becomes quite vested in their futures. I found Fairuza Balk's acting performance particularly compelling. One of my favorite acted roles in cinema (quality wise). This film is in my top ten favorites of all time, and also my twin has similar affinity for this superb film. Kudos to a film outside of the ordinary with a true independent vision.