Independence Day

Mary Ann Taylor of Mercury, New Mexico, is a small-town photographer with bigcity dreams. She's drawn to Jack Parker, a car-racing enthusiast who's seen the world and knows it can get cold out there; he craves the hometown comforts Mary Ann is striving to break from. Though it's tearing her apart, Mary Ann must make a choice. Kathleen Quinlan (Clara's Heart) and David Keith (An Officer and a Gentleman) are Mary Ann and Jack in Independence Day, a moving, unsentimental look at what "coming of age" can mean for a young woman with talent, intelligence and ambition -- and how leaving home often means leaving behind a big piece of your heart. Powerful performances by Frances Sternhagen (as Mary Ann's ailing mother) and Dianne Wiest (as Jack's ill-married sister) add grit and poignance to this first film from F/X and Touch and Go director Robert Mandel. In its honesty and universality, Independence Day is an occasion to celebrate.

• drama