Earthly Possessions

Once again, Susan Sarandon is on the road and on the lam from the law in this odyssey of personal discovery based on Anne Tyler's novel. But this time, she's no Louise; she's Charlotte Emery, a timid housewife who has never been out of her small town. Flirting with leaving her husband, she goes to the bank to withdraw her savings, and is promptly taken hostage by Jake Simms, a young bankrobber (Stephen Dorff, rising to the occasion of acting alongside his formidable Oscar-winning co-star). Predictably, it is a liberating and transforming experience for both. Flighty and nervously chatty Charlotte is a welcome comedic departure from Sarandon's earth mother screen persona (she hasn't been this appealing onscreen since Bull Durham). But this is a role more ideally suited to, say, Joan Allen or perhaps Diane Keaton. Sarandon's potent, down-home sexuality occasionally undermines her character, particularly in one scene where a spurned Jake tells Charlotte that he offered her sex because he felt sorry for her. I don't think so. Minor quibbles aside, this is highly recommended. (K. Lee Benson)