The film introduces the audience to Josie Alibrandi (Pia Miranda) and her family. Josie, just like a normal teenager is struggling with her identity. She is of Italian background and apparently feels she doesn’t she fit in.
Josie and her friend, Jacob
As the movie progresses, Josie deals with several obstacles in her life. One of the main issues is the appearance of her father (Anthony LePaglia), whom she had never met. Josie is also confronted with the suicide of her friend John Barton (Matthew Newton), a boy who she secretly loved, envied and admired. Also, Josie is held back by the famous “Alibrandi Curse”, a belief developed by Josie’s Nonna (Elena Cotta) to explain the families bad luck.
“Even though the main character is a girl, I really related to the kinds of things she was going through” – Anthony LePaglia.
Looking for Alibrandi incorporates certain camera techniques suitable for the scene. For instance, when Josie is faced with her long lost father, the director uses mid shots and close ups to allow the viewer to focus on the characters expressions.
Also, when Josie throws the torn note from John into the wind, the camera pans out, following the flight of the paper. This adds to the sincerity and emphasises Josie’s acceptance of John’s death, that she's finally letting him go, and that John is finally “free”.
The film incorporates music that reflects her Italian heritage. Classic songs are played predominantly at family gatherings, and play an essential part in the movie, highlighting their culture. For instance, at the start of the movie, they play a cultural song. Josie is troubled by the music, and she attempts to turn on her modern rock music. This emphasises her dislike of her culture. At the end of the movie, she does the opposite; she is the one turning on the Italian music and this emphasises her acceptance of her identity.
Stepmom, directed by Chris Columbus, also provides viewers with more issues that we ourselves can relate to. The movie deals with issues such as divorce, cancer, and remarriage; three issues that are very common in today’s society.
“This film is a drama, and my goal was to keep everything as real as possible.” Says director, Chris Columbus.
Similar to Looking for Alibrandi, Stepmom starts with an establishment of characters, introducing us to the stepmother, Isabel (Julia Roberts), and her stepchildren, Anna (Jena Malone) and Ben (Liam Aiken). The children, and especially their mother Jackie (Susan Sarandon), resent Isabel and are bitter about her intrusion on the family.
When Jackie’s cancer reappears, and she must undertake Chemotherapy, she eventually realises that she must allow Isabel to mother her children when she is no longer around for them, and she accepts Isabel as part of the family.
Jackie and Isabel
In the chilling scene where Jackie is told she has cancer, the producer skilfully uses a circular pan around her. This signifies the confusion and shock that Jackie is feeling in this moment, and allows the viewer to feel the same confusion as she does.
Also, when Jackie and Ben are talking at the end of the movie, there is a side view of them both. This shows that there is little space between the two, indicating that there is closeness, and love between them.
This closeness and love between her and her children is not only emphasised by camera techniques, but also through the movies soundtrack. For instance, the song “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” is played on three instances and depicts, through the lyrics, that there isn’t anything that will separate the children from their mother.
Where the Heart Is, directed by Matt Williams, again deals with issues that society can relate to. The movie is a roller coaster ride from beginning to end, and deals with a large number of issues ranging from teenage pregnancy, to death, to marriage.
Unlike the former two movies, Where the Heart Is does not start with the introduction of characters. Rather, it starts at a very strange position, and the viewers must piece the story together for themselves.
The movie starts with a young pregnant woman, who’s left at a Wal-Mart by her selfish boyfriend and is forced to live by herself with only $5.55 in her pocket. Alone, she is forced to live in the Wal-Mart and eventually gives birth to her baby in the store, with a little help from the local Librarian. She moves in with a couple that, at first, mistook her for a friend.
As the story develops, Novalee (Natalie Portman) deals with many issues, such as the death of her friend, falling in love with the man who saved her and her babies’ life, and supporting a friend in need of a home. Although this scenario is obscure, the reality of teenage pregnancy, death, and love are issues society has to deal with.
For the first half of the film, the camera uses mid shots and long shots so the viewer can clearly see that Novalee is still pregnant. After she has given birth, the director focuses more on mid shots and close ups, techniques incorporated in the previous two movies.
Novalee, standing outside Wal-Mart
When Novalee finds out her boyfriend has left her, the camera pans around her to signifies the shock she is feeling, which is a technique also used in Stepmom.
Looking for Alibrandi, Stepmom and Where the Heart Is have set a good example over the past few years as they attempt to present issues that we can relate to. As can be seen in the three movies, there is no perfect ending - no miracle cure for cancer, no magical potion that can make you fit in, no mystical spell that can stop loved ones from leaving - just the harsh reality of life. And so, these movies take a significant step away from the cliché, and show us what we ourselves are subjected to.
The majority of people these days have gone through the pain of death, disease, and ethnical differences, the joys of birth, and the joy of marriage. These issues are so apparent in society; it really is great to see movies throw away the cliché.
Bibliography
Internet Movie Database – Looking For Alibrandi (Online) Availiable:
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0217629, March 2003
Internet Movie Database – Stepmom (Online) Available:
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0120686, March 2003
Internet Movie Database – Where the heart is (Online) Available
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0198021, March 2003
Looking For Alibrandi (Online), Available:
http://www.beyond.com.au/pdfs/LookingForAlibrandi.pdf., 26th March, 2003
Stepmom – Meet the director (Online), Available:
http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/stepmom/c_director.html , 26th March, 2003
