Off the Map

This is one of those films you can really lose yourself in. A woman is reminiscing about a time in the early seventies when she was 12 years old and her father was struck down with a bad dose of depression. First thing you notice is the amazing colours of New Mexico, the photography is stunning. Then there's the acting by Joan Allen, Sam Elliott and especially Valentina de Angelis which is sublime. The story is simple but heartbreaking and ocassionally very funny. When the film ends, like waking up after a beautiful dream, you'll long to keep that magical feeling for as long as possible. Not to be missed! (9/10)

Winsome tale of a little family that chose in 1974 to unplug themselves from the "grid" of middle class life and go live off the land in the middle of nowhere, New Mexico. A windmill pumps their well water. They read by kerosene lamps. They grow vegetables. They've gradually stored away four years of food and three years of firewood.

Cash comes in the form of a small VA pension to the head of the household, Charley Groden (basso voiced Sam Elliott), plus some modest crop sales. All told, they take in about $5,000 a year. Which makes it curious indeed when they receive notice that the IRS is dispatching an agent to visit. But wait a minute, I'm getting ahead of things.

The other family members are Arlene Groden (the immensely versatile Joan Allen) and Bo (Valentina de Angelis), Charley and Arlene's precocious 12 year old daughter. A good friend, lonely bachelor George (J. K. Simmons), hangs around so much he seems like family too. The time in question here, when Bo was 12, actually was maybe a decade ago, for we are learning this story as a narrative reminiscence told to us by a now adult Bo.

The summer when she was 12 was marked not only by the advent of William Gibbs (Jim True-Frost), the IRS man, but by the occurrence of Charley's first ever episode of deep depression. It went on for months. He sits mute most of the time. Eats little. Sleeps little. Cries softly a lot. Refuses to seek professional aid from the VA.

Arlene manages to keep things going, but her generally serene style is eroding as the weeks go by. It doesn't help that Bo is restless, tired of her isolation, chafing to go to regular school, get a credit card, move out into the larger world. Not one to hide her light, Bo complains eloquently about her boring life, even as she maintains a loving, respectful attitude toward her parents.

The arrival of William Gibbs destabilizes the precarious symmetry of these people's lives. Turns out Gibbs is depressed too: maybe not as severely as Charley, but it's gone on for many years. He just became an IRS agent lately, grasping at some possible change for the better. In thrall to Arlene's mystical ways and beauty, Gibbs drops out of the IRS, moves into an old schoolbus on the property, and takes up watercolor painting.

Arlene and Bo are both grateful for attention from a new face. And, perhaps in a house too small for two depressed males, Charley begins to come out of his shell, with some help from a borrowed bottle of antidepressant pills that fire up a manicky conclusion to his near catatonic state. Even George comes to life and goes hunting for a woman to marry.

This is a small film about unconventional people, folks who don't fit the molds of middle class, rich, arty or neurotic urbanity that typify the subjects of so much traditional fiction – print and film. Adapted from a stage script by the playwright, Joan Ackermann, this work reminds me of the novels about quirky, offbeat people that have become so popular in the past few years.

I'm thinking of the work of authors like Louise Erdrich ("The Beet Queen"), E. Annie Proulx ("The Shipping News" – which, incidentally, was adapted into a fine film that did not receive the recognition it deserved), or Anne Tyler ("Clockwinder," " Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant," "A Slipping Down Life").

The movie is not without its hitches. Why is a coyote - to which Arlene had developed an intense spiritual connection - killed? How did Bo actually acquire that credit card and get approval to use it for such a grand and costly gift? The film starts somewhat bumpily. For a while it seems like Ms. de Angelis will overwhelm both her family and us viewers with her domineering intelligence. But with time, she, like the film itself, wins you over.

Indeed, "Off the Map" ends by charming you, making this film a pleasant surprise. It's of interest to compare "Off the Map" to another recent release about 1970s dropouts, Rebecca Miller's "The Ballad of Jack and Rose." That film more or less trashes the whole ideal of living a life according to values that run against the stereotypical middle class norms of acquiring material possessions and working to pay off the resultant debts.

The fact that Jack and his merry band failed to sustain their alternative way of life is implicitly presented as evidence that their aims were unsound, invalid. "Off the Map," on the other hand, conveys a better sense of what motivated people to drop out back then and shows that at least some dropouts achieved a measure of success.

I don't know why, but it took two years to bring this decent film to the screen (made in 2003, it is only receiving commercial distribution now). My rating: 7/10 (B). (Seen on 04/13/05). If you'd like to read more of my reviews, send me a message for directions to my websites.

Worth watching, plain and simple.

I was torn somewhat between the precocious kid and the depressed dad. It was a little too much and yet the simple beauty of the New Mexico landscape offset their performance. A tighter conflict would have helped the pacing.

Everything seemed to balance itself out though, and most should find something to like about this movie.

I adore Joan Allen. She is built like a leading lady, looks, walks and talks like a leading lady yet is a great character actor as proved here. I had to look a little close to recognize her and I love that in great acting talent.

Sam Elliott, a veritable man's man, held steady. I think his effort was commendable though having been around persons afflicted with various types of depression, his seemed a bit vague, and uneven. It was like a functioning catatonia with bouts of chattering. I didn't get it. Since his mental illness was,in essence, the spine of the story, the spine was a bit bent. Still,handsome Sam is still watchable and worthy of our respect as he does not seem uncomfortable with his gray hairs or his wrinkles. Very anti-Hollywood.

Of the ensemble cast, I really enjoyed J.K. Simmons. Simmons who seems to have put most of the food on the table career-wise by playing nasties (especially in OZ) as well as disaffected authority figures, was refreshing as George, an everyman with a simpleness that was most enjoyable.

In closing, I think I would have liked the movie better if they had given proper treatment to the depressive issues affecting Charlie, Sam Elliott's character. Mental illness advocates might agree.

Still it was a bit like Walden Pond, New Mexico with more people.

Again, my criticisms aside, there is plenty to like about this. It's worth the time to watch this movie.

"Off the Map" is an "old-fashioned" film that made me feel, in the immortal words of Frank Zappa, that it's f*cking great to be alive. This film took me to a place in my heart I haven't been since the wonderful Bill Forsyth ("Local Hero") faded from the movie-making scene. It is high time for humane, gentle, wholly original stories of people and places off the map (or in our technological dystopia, perhaps `off the radar screen' would be more appropriate) to fill our movie dreamscape again. New Mexico is the only place in the United States this could have been filmed because, indeed, only the Land of Enchantment could have fit this gorgeous, lyrical story so well.

There wasn't a single relationship in this film that wasn't unique and fully realized. We've seen these set-ups before: the school-girl crush of Bo for William Gibbs, the awe-inspired worship of William for Arlene, the friendship between Charley and George. But don't we always get the caricatures, the popcorn images that point out the woeful arrested development of our country and its mythmakers? We think we want to be young forever. But it takes a film like "Off the Map" to show us all the richness we're missing out on by not growing up. (And the casting and direction of this ensemble of actors was nothing short of genius, especially Joan Allen. It's nice someone can see her as something more than middle-class white bread and pull this very individualistic performance out of her.)

I'm feeling kind of emotional just thinking about some to the great scenes in this film: when Charley runs 20 miles to George's house and goads him into wrestling; when Charley and William talk about what it feels like to be depressed; when William watches Arlene standing naked in her garden watching the totemic coyote; when Bo extracts from George the information she needs to apply for a MasterCharge card; Arlene reading Bo's letter in the newspaper advice column; Bo thanking the squirrel for giving up its life to feed her and her family; George's presence, like an old pair of sneakers, in the Groden home.

Like I said before, I didn't think people made films like this anymore. Thank you, Campbell Scott, for proving me wrong.

I saw this film at the High Falls Film Festival in Rochester NY, and had the pleasure of speaking with many of the people involved in this production. I have to say that this is one of the best films I have seen in a while. It's REAL... with a tranquil quality.. but REAL in a way that we can all see and relate to these characters in some way. It is a "slow" film... but that's what makes it so AMAZING.... it sucks you into these peoples lives... not just the girl.. but those surrounding her. I would love to see more films made like this. Cudos to Camble Scott for such great direction and Joan Ackermann for writing such a beautiful play.. that is now on the BIG SCREEN!!

Please, go see this film.. it takes you on an amazing ride.. BUT.. understand... that this is not an action flick... it is REAL... almost gritty and dreamy... one minute you will be laughing.. and seconds later your laugh will abruptly stop and tears may come to your eyes.. then.. back to laughter!!

I highly recommend this film!!!