In 1988, Arquette played the daughter of Tess Harper in "Far North." Her roles in the early 1990s were in low budget and independent films, including "Prayer of the Rollerboys" (1990) as love interest of Corey Haim's character, "The Indian Runner" (1991), which was the directorial debut of Sean Penn; and the drama "Inside Monkey Zetterland." In 1992, she won a CableACE Award for Best Lead Actress in a Mini-Series for her portrayal of a deaf girl with epilepsy in "Wildflower," directed by Diane Keaton and also starring Reese Witherspoon.