Tragic. Ironic. Sad. Confusing. Inexcusable. Pick your adjective. Such words are often used to describe the fact that the United States of America, the richest country in the world, has a significant problem with homelessness. According to a January 2012 report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, there were over 635,000 homeless people in the United States at any one time. The number of those who were temporarily homeless was much higher. Homelessness has actually declined a bit in the last few years, but that fact means nothing to the individual people who are counted in those statistics. The man who can't support his family. The woman fleeing an abusive spouse. The kids who see and reflect their parents' sadness, frustration and fear, but lack the emotional maturity or life experience to understand much of what's happening to their family. These are just some examples of the kinds of people who are among America's homeless. Regardless of the causes of these situations, they are all sad stories. The unusual drama "Time Out of Mind" (NR, 1:57) sheds light on these problems through the experiences of one homeless man. It's too bad that his story, and the film around him, aren't more effectively staged.
Before you notice the problems with this film, or even have the chance to evaluate the story for yourself, you have to get past the movie's title. What does "Time Out of Mind" even mean? Is it that the central character is out of his mind for a time, or is it something else? The movie's advertising doesn't answer that question, nor does the film itself. That exact title was used for a well-received 1997 Bob Dylan album and a relatively expensive, but poorly received 1947 film, along with other musical, film and television products. The Wiktionary website offers definitions for the phrase ("the distant past beyond anyone's memory", or "a lengthy duration of time, longer than is readily remembered"), but neither those definitions, nor the various entertainment products that used the phrase as a title seem to have any real connection to the story in the 2014 film (which started off on the film festival circuit late that year and received a limited U.S. theatrical release in September 2015, expanding slightly during the fall).
Richard Gere stars as George, a middle-aged man who is homeless throughout the film. We see him struggling to find a place to sleep in the bathtub of the vacated apartment of a friend (until a building manager played by Steve Buscemi chases him away), on an outdoor bench, in a hospital waiting room, on the subway and, eventually, in a semi-permanent homeless shelter. Along the way, George has conversations with other homeless people played by, among others, Ben Vereen and an almost unrecognizable Kyra Sedgwick, he seeks help from random strangers and people paid to help people like him, and he spies on and occasionally tries to talk to his estranged daughter, Maggie (Jena Malone).
This cast is good, but Gere is the weak link. The other actors give brief, but lived-in performances (especially Sedgwick). Gere's acting is heartfelt and has some range to it, but feels like little more than the typically suave Gere with a bad haircut and worn-out shoes. Gere is a fine actor, but I can think of others who would've been better casting choices. I also wish that we got more of George's backstory and could actually tell if his mental issues are genuine. The script is one of this film's biggest problems.
There's very little conflict here to drive this story. People drift in and out of George's life and he drifts in and out of theirs with nothing of any real importance coming from these interactions. The three main questions that a viewer is waiting to have answered are whether George will find a permanent and decent place to stay, whether he'll get the documents he needs to receive services and whether he'll reconnect with his daughter in any meaningful way. There's relatively little actual dialog. Some of it feels improvised and much of the film has no dialog at all (but not like in "Cast Away" or "All is Lost" which were more interesting because it felt like its plots were going somewhere). The cinematography involves showing us many of the film's scenes through windows, sometimes even from across the street, and the actors' faces are often blocked by objects in the foreground. It all makes the viewer feel like a voyeur.
The things that I just criticized about the film could be understood as artistic choices – if you are in a charitable mood. The (probably) improvised dialog and lack of activity or meaningful accomplishments in most of George's days could be seen as ways to make the film more realistic. Then, maybe, the large number of scenes shot through windows are meant to symbolize people catching glimpses of George's life, but not really understanding, caring or doing anything to help. These things aren't clear and they could have been, with some very minor changes to the film's visuals and its choppy editing. I'll give the screenwriter and director the benefit of the doubt on some of this stuff, but that only goes so far in evaluating a film as a piece of entertainment, which is the main reason that most people go to movies.
I'm not recommending "Time Out of Mind" (by giving it something in the "A" or "B" range), but I don't think it deserves trashing either (any kind of "D" or "F"). I'm giving this movie a grade that reflects my evaluation of it as a well-intentioned but mediocre and mostly boring film which ends up being a few tweaks away from a recommendation – and more effectiveness as entertainment – and as an agent for greater awareness and maybe even change on a very important issue in the U.S. and elsewhere. "C+"
Before you notice the problems with this film, or even have the chance to evaluate the story for yourself, you have to get past the movie's title. What does "Time Out of Mind" even mean? Is it that the central character is out of his mind for a time, or is it something else? The movie's advertising doesn't answer that question, nor does the film itself. That exact title was used for a well-received 1997 Bob Dylan album and a relatively expensive, but poorly received 1947 film, along with other musical, film and television products. The Wiktionary website offers definitions for the phrase ("the distant past beyond anyone's memory", or "a lengthy duration of time, longer than is readily remembered"), but neither those definitions, nor the various entertainment products that used the phrase as a title seem to have any real connection to the story in the 2014 film (which started off on the film festival circuit late that year and received a limited U.S. theatrical release in September 2015, expanding slightly during the fall).
Richard Gere stars as George, a middle-aged man who is homeless throughout the film. We see him struggling to find a place to sleep in the bathtub of the vacated apartment of a friend (until a building manager played by Steve Buscemi chases him away), on an outdoor bench, in a hospital waiting room, on the subway and, eventually, in a semi-permanent homeless shelter. Along the way, George has conversations with other homeless people played by, among others, Ben Vereen and an almost unrecognizable Kyra Sedgwick, he seeks help from random strangers and people paid to help people like him, and he spies on and occasionally tries to talk to his estranged daughter, Maggie (Jena Malone).
This cast is good, but Gere is the weak link. The other actors give brief, but lived-in performances (especially Sedgwick). Gere's acting is heartfelt and has some range to it, but feels like little more than the typically suave Gere with a bad haircut and worn-out shoes. Gere is a fine actor, but I can think of others who would've been better casting choices. I also wish that we got more of George's backstory and could actually tell if his mental issues are genuine. The script is one of this film's biggest problems.
There's very little conflict here to drive this story. People drift in and out of George's life and he drifts in and out of theirs with nothing of any real importance coming from these interactions. The three main questions that a viewer is waiting to have answered are whether George will find a permanent and decent place to stay, whether he'll get the documents he needs to receive services and whether he'll reconnect with his daughter in any meaningful way. There's relatively little actual dialog. Some of it feels improvised and much of the film has no dialog at all (but not like in "Cast Away" or "All is Lost" which were more interesting because it felt like its plots were going somewhere). The cinematography involves showing us many of the film's scenes through windows, sometimes even from across the street, and the actors' faces are often blocked by objects in the foreground. It all makes the viewer feel like a voyeur.
The things that I just criticized about the film could be understood as artistic choices – if you are in a charitable mood. The (probably) improvised dialog and lack of activity or meaningful accomplishments in most of George's days could be seen as ways to make the film more realistic. Then, maybe, the large number of scenes shot through windows are meant to symbolize people catching glimpses of George's life, but not really understanding, caring or doing anything to help. These things aren't clear and they could have been, with some very minor changes to the film's visuals and its choppy editing. I'll give the screenwriter and director the benefit of the doubt on some of this stuff, but that only goes so far in evaluating a film as a piece of entertainment, which is the main reason that most people go to movies.
I'm not recommending "Time Out of Mind" (by giving it something in the "A" or "B" range), but I don't think it deserves trashing either (any kind of "D" or "F"). I'm giving this movie a grade that reflects my evaluation of it as a well-intentioned but mediocre and mostly boring film which ends up being a few tweaks away from a recommendation – and more effectiveness as entertainment – and as an agent for greater awareness and maybe even change on a very important issue in the U.S. and elsewhere. "C+"