Anywhere but Here

Anywhere but Here is a 1999 American coming-of-age comedy drama film based on the novel of the same name by Mona Simpson. It was directed by Wayne Wang from a screenplay by Alvin Sargent, and stars Susan Sarandon, Natalie Portman, and Shawn Hatosy. Filming began in late June 1998. The film debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 17, 1999, before being released in the United States on November 12. Plot Adele August and her reluctant teenage daughter, Ann, leave their small town in Wisconsin and move to Beverly Hills. Adele hopes Ann will become a Hollywood actress despite Ann's interest in going to Brown University. They rent a run-down apartment and Adele becomes a speech-language pathologist at the high school where Ann enrolls.