A compassionate and determinedly modest debut from producer and Sundance cofounder Sterling VanWagenen, ALAN & NAOMI boasts fine central performances from juvenile star Lukas Haas and newcomer Vanessa Zaoui.
Alan Silverman (Haas), already in the dog house with some of his classmates, who think he's a gangly sissy, is desperate to prove himself on the stickball team when his loving parents, Sol and Ruth (well played by Michael Gross of TV's "Family Ties" and Amy Aquino), deal their only son a
devastating blow, virtually ordering him to sacrifice his afterschool playtime in order to serve as Good Samaritan to a new neighbor's young ward, a French girl named Naomi Kirschenbaum (Zaoui) who is suffering from catatonia as a result of witnessing the brutal death of her father, a member of
the French Resistance, at the hands of the Nazis. When Alan, not understanding her tormented background or fully grasping the extent of her present plight, first meets Naomi, he's repulsed by her and resentful of having to spend his afternoons with an unresponsive girl who does nothing but stare
into space while mechanically ripping newspapers to shreds. As these sessions continue, however, Alan begins to take a personal interest in his charge and begins working hard to reach her. The breakthrough comes when Alan, a passably good ventriloquist, uses his dummy to communicate with Naomi.
She responds through her ragged doll and a friendship blossoms, first between dummy and doll, and eventually between the two youngsters themselves.
Initially embarrassed about his involvement with the troubled Naomi, Alan avoids telling the truth to his best friend Shaun (Kevin Connolly) and, as a result, he almost loses Shaun's friendship forever. Finally, Alan confesses all to Shaun and takes him to meet Naomi. At first, Shaun refuses to
forgive Alan for his fibs, but all is forgiven after a local bully, shouting racial slurs, pounces on the smaller Alan and Shaun comes to his friend's defense. Near the conclusion, Naomi suffers a relapse, hides in a cellar and smears soot over her face. The touching finale finds Alan comforting
Naomi on a bench outside the sanitorium where she has been taken by Mrs. Liebman (Zohra Lampert), her guardian. She's reverted to her previous catatonic state, but Alan's assured expression effectively conveys his hope for her future.
Set during the mid-1940s, some viewers will likely criticize ALAN & NAOMI for not offering a tougher, more realistic view of its subject matter, such as the unsparing portrait of Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller offered by Arthur Penn in THE MIRACLE WORKER. In truth, Jordan Horowitz's screenplay is
decidedly sentimental, largely eschewing the more unpleasant aspects of Naomi's recovery, but the film remains a sweetly affecting coming-of-age story that younger audiences, and tender-hearted older viewers, will doubtlessly appreciate. The Brooklyn period settings have been faithfully recreated
by production designer George Goodridge in Wilmington, North Carolina. (Adult situations.) leave a comment
