Tumbleweeds DVD (2000) (1 Disc) (UK)

I first saw Tumbleweeds in 1999 when it was first released in the cinemas & Ill always remember it as one of the best films of that year. British actress Janet McTeer went on to win a well-deserved best Actress Oscar nomination for her role as Mary Jo Walker a flaky South Carolinian, who runs backwards & forwards towards abusive men & searches for love in all the wrong places.

13-year-old Ava is still young enough that her mother, Mary Jo, seems like the center of the world. The film opens as Mary Jo is suffering domestic abuse at the hands of her drunken rage -fuelled husband, while Ava nervously cowers in her bedroom. Mary Jo is smart enough to realize that she cant expose her daughter or herself from this any longer, so they go on the road looking for a better future.

They settle in a southern California beach town of Starlight Beach where Mary Jo quickly gets involved with another guy, Jack Ranson . But things dont go as planned. It seems as though theres something about Mary Jo who thrives on hooking up with the bad guys. Soon, she continues a pattern familiar to the sarcastic, adaptable Ava: Mom moves in, meets the lout, shacks up, things go wrong, so mother & daughter move on again.

McTeer plays Mary Joe to the hilt, turning in an absolutely masterful performance. She radiates openness, optimism, & sensuality; she captures the casual, easy-going exterior but also the pain, insecurity & weariness underneath. It seems that Mary Jo, not so much gets into bad relationships, but that she just cant quite see alternatives. Despite having been locked in co-dependencies, she has survived with mostly indefatigable buoyancy, a wild & raunchy sense of humor, & a joy in life & living that sparkles.

It is the mother daughter relationship that really drives this story. On the surface, her relationship with Ava is more like girlfriends of similar age than mother & daughter, but for all her worldliness, Ava is still barely pubescent. Mary Jo is still a mother with a deep well of unconditional love & the mother-daughter bond is always conspicuous - she even gets a real kick out of teaching her daughter how to kiss boys.

Brown plays Ava as observant, perceptive, realistic; shes been around her mothers serial misadventures & they have made her wise beyond her years. Shes clever enough to counter her mothers often-unrealistic expectations; Avas seen it all before & it has hurt. Shell hold back where Mary Jo plunges in, often with disastrous results; its as though Ava is constantly learning from her mothers mistakes.

First-time director & co writer Gavin OConnor - who also plays Jack - is insightful & skilled at really bringing out the dynamics of the mother & daughter relationship. Every scene means something, no one gets caught acting, & theres almost no exposition.

Of course when Mary Jo finds that shes merely repeating the mistakes of the past, her first instinct is to flee, rather than face her, & it is Avas insistence on staying that forces Mary Jo to stay put & find another way to live her life. Mothers usually teach their daughters, but the irony in this film is that daughter teaches mother.

Tumbleweeds is a lovingly pragmatic little film that is just brimming with warmth, realism & humanity. Its closely observed & honestly presented, & acts as a huge showcase for McTeers talent as an actress. Its just a pity that, as yet she hasnt gone on to achieve the international fame that she so thoroughly deserves. Mike Leonard October 05.