Tumbleweeds

Rarely have two actresses been so effortless in their intimacy.

We have this movie--full of acceptant, sidelong glances at human quirkiness--to delight us.

Janet McTeer doesn't imitate Mary Jo Walker, and she doesn't act her. She becomes her. It's almost spooky.

The humor isn't as sharp as it should be, and the story isn't as tight as it could be.

The story is as rambling as the characters, but superb acting by McTeer and Brown goes a long way toward redeeming it.

No, it isn't the slick and unfocused "Anywhere but Here," where mom and daughter choose Beverly Hills. Instead, it's the more modest and in most cases preferable Tumbleweeds.

It's a wonderfully nuanced performance in an otherwise un-nuanced narrative.