Middle of Nowhere

MIDDLE OF NOWHERE is one of those surprise films that appear to have gone direct to DVD - not because they are unworthy of theater showing but because they are thinking films rather than explosively entertaining/CGI/3D extravaganzas. The script (Michelle Morgan) is smart, the concepts are viable and refreshingly not overdone, the direction (John Stockwell) shows great respect for the talents of the actors, and the cast is as solid as could be assembled for a film about touchy subjects. The theme that is born at the beginning of this film and grows in importance right to the end is the parent/child conundrum: when is parenting adequate and what are the drivers for dysfunctional family units.

Grace Berry (Eva Amurri, in a very natural and focused tough role) explains to a college scholarship counselor (Sharon London) that she needs financial aid to begin her higher education to become a doctor, but though she is a brilliant student, the counselor refuses to award a scholarship because of Grace's exceptionally bad credit rating. Distraught, Grace challenges her mother Rhonda (Susan Sarandon) when she discovers Rhonda has used Grace's name to open credit cards and has spent them to the limit. Grace needs big money to attend college and her summer job at the water park in town is minimum wage only. Also working at the water park is the happy-go-lucky Dorian (Anton Yelchin) who flirts with disaster, having found an 'extra job' selling weed to the rich folks of the city. After a lot of patter Dorian gently coerces Grace into being his driver (Dorian has no car, having been grounded for misbehavior by his grumpy uncle who is serving as relief for Dorian's adoptive parents), and the two begin a quality friendship that fills emotional and financial gaps in each of their lives.

But the truth about Grace and Dorian's parents surfaces: Dorian was given up by his 15-year- old mother for religious reasons and has been placed with quasi-appropriate wealthy parents; Grace lives with the knowledge that her father committed suicide only to come to discover that the suicide was the result of discovering that Rhonda was (and still is) having an affair with his brother Bob (William Haze). Grace's discovery comes through a conversation with her Aunt Polly (Karen Bramen, in an excellent role for this new actress) and Grace's mother-favored younger sister Taylor (Willa Holland), and the revelation sets off a series of events that propels the story to an end. Yes, there are sidebars expected in stories of teenagers: Grace falls in lust with rich kid Ben (Justin Chatwin); Taylor rebels against her mother by cutting her hair thus ending her mother's obsession with Taylor's becoming a model and Taylor seduces Dorian; Dorian confronts his birth mother; there are fights where Dorian is injured and finds himself alone without family support. But without a sugarcoated finale, the film ends quietly, affirming the importance of friends - a kind of love than can replace gaping holes in family relationships.

The movie truly belongs to Eva Amurri who proves she is becoming as fine an actress as her mother, Susan Sarandon. The film also allows Anton Yelchin to demonstrate a much broader range to his acting than he has been given before. The entire cast is excellent. This is a coming of age story - with far more attention being paid to the adult end of the developmental spectrum.

Grady Harp

Middle of Nowhere is a touching character study given an extra resonance by pairing the real life mother & daughter Susan Sarandon & Eva Amurri, playing a mother & daughter. Susan Sarandon takes a back seat while Eva Amurri really shines in her role as Grace, the older of two daughters being raised by her mother after their father's suicide. While mother's attention is focused on getting her younger daughter to modeling school, Grace has to find a summer job to raise money to fulfill her ambition of going to medical school. She does get a job at a water park where he meets Dorian (Anton Yelchin) who has an unusual scheme to find money to get Grace to college.

This movie is full of real characters with whom is easy to identify and empathize with. The acting is great with Amurri and Yelchin the standouts.

Studious Grace Berry (Eva Amurri) is denied financial aid for school because her irresponsible mother Rhonda (Susan Sarandon) ruined her credit history. Her sister Taylor (Willa Holland) refuses to lie to get a lawsuit settlement. She works at the water park and needs $12k by the end of the summer to pay for school. Dorian Spitz (Anton Yelchin) is rebelling against his rich family and forced to work at the park. Dorian convinces Grace to sell drugs with him. She falls for rich kid Ben Pretzler (Justin Chatwin). Dorian has a crush on Grace and Taylor is interested in Dorian.

Eva Amurri is not quite right. She's a little too old. Her character is suppose to be a doormat but Eva is never that as a personality. The pull of pairing mother and daughter is not enough to justify the miscast. The family dysfunctions are compelling but not what is done with them. The movie is building some big drama. The actors are all doing good work. The movie just never gets all there.

This is a surprisingly good movie about a recent high-school graduate (Eva Amurri) who's irresponsible mother (Susan Sarandon) has blown her college fund and destroyed her credit, so she gets together with a very moral but very misguided rich kid (Anto Yelchin)to deal dope in their "middle-of-nowhere" small town. A love triangle develops between the girl, her erstwhile "business partner", and her precocious, aspiring model younger sister (Willa Holland), but it is a largely unrequited one as she is uninterested in him and he resists the jailbait charms of her sister.

Eva Amurri is a beautiful and talented actress, if a bit long in the tooth to be playing a recent high school graduate. Willa Holland is an unusually beautiful teenager who has since gone on to work in European films like "Summer in Genoa" (as an even more sexually precocious youngster). She does a good job playing an aspiring underage model. It's nice to see Susan Sarandon playing a completely unsympathetic role like this. The real surprise though is Anton Yelchin who I usually find incredibly annoying even in movies I otherwise like like "Alpha Dog". Instead of wanting to kick his teeth down his throat as usual though, I actually kind of liked his character here (although strangely this is the second time he played a sympathetic drug-dealer--he had a very similar role in the more famous, but overrated "Charlie Bartlett).

A lot of credit also has to go to director John Stockwell. It's interesting that two of the more interesting and underrated indie directors today, John Stockwell and Keith Gordon, once appeared together as ACTORS in the very mediocre 1983 horror movie "Christine". Stockwell has come the closest to mainstream success (or, depending on how you look at it, selling out) with films like "Crazy/Beautiful" and "Blue Crush", but he does better I think with smaller pictures like this. I'd recommend this.

If you liked 'Blue Valentine', 'Half Nelson', 'Crazy/Beautiful' or 'All That I Love (2009)' you're certainly gonna like this one.

I wasn't expecting really much to be honest but gave it a try and what a nice surprise it was. Don't expect anything dumb or crazy, another stupid teen flick this is not. Just normal young (but very smart and reasonable) people who struggle to find themselves and try to do something worthwhile with their lives. This film is a pretty good definition of the so called 'Gen Y'. Everything is authentic and it is this film's biggest advantage. So if you're in your early 20's and want to watch a film about people like you, go ahead, you won't be disappointed.

Kudos to John Stockwell. I admire his way of portraying things in an unpretentious, real and laid-back fashion. He really understands this day's youth and should get more credit for it.