Unable to sleep late at night, I got one of my brother's old VHS tapes and played something called Anna. This 20-year old movie made by European artists in America for the independent film company Vestron Pictures starred Sally Kirkland in the Oscar-nominated title role as a former Czech movie actress who's now struggling off-Broadway as an understudy for seven roles in an art-house play. Robert Fields plays her writer boyfriend Daniel, Steven Gilborn-who I remember as Kevin Arnold's math teacher in "The Wonder Years"-her ex-husband Tonda, and supermodel Paulina Porizkova is Krystyna-Anna's protégé. When I read the end credits, at the last name on the cast list was Francis' daughter Sofia Coppola as Noodle though I don't remember her or the character. Anyway, this movie began amusingly enough with Anna suffering an audition reciting a nursery rhyme while standing on one leg and shouting but as the film went on we feel for her as she suffers a breakdown after Krystyna steals Anna's life story for her own as she-with Anna's help-rises in stardom. Kirkland deserved her only Academy Award nomination that I felt was even better than the one who actually won in the Best Actress category that year: Cher in Moonstruck. Porizkova was also pretty good for her ingénue role as we see her and Kirkland initially bond. Since Vestron no longer exists, this movie may be difficult to find now but Anna is definitely worth a look.
Anna
(1987)
Anna gave worthy actress Sally Kirkland her only Oscar-nominated role
25 January 2008
Warning: Spoilers