Off the Map 2003

Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press: Surprisingly enjoyable and insightful, full of hope and generosity, with characters and a story that not only satisfy but also shed light in various directions. Read more

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune: As with many of the best non-conformist American indies and foreign films, it's taken much too long for Off the Map to achieve distribution, and it's been our loss. Read more

John Hartl, Seattle Times: It's so focused on the subject that the downer mood becomes distressingly contagious. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: I think Campbell Scott's a talented filmmaker, very good cast, but the story up and down and up and down and all around. Read more

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Quiet and quirky, yet refreshingly unpretentious, Off the Map is a welcome sojourn in a place that seems strange, yet entirely familiar. Read more

AV Club: Read more

Bill Muller, Arizona Republic: A journey into an austere land of moviemaking where few artists dare go. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: If you've ever stood under a night sky and felt the earth turning beneath you -- and felt insignificant and elated at the same time -- Campbell Scott has your number. Read more

Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times: It takes a rugged survivalist mentality to sit through 108 minutes of Off the Map. Read more

Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle: [A] lovely film, which hardly ever makes a move that feels wrong. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: This is a character study more than a forward-moving drama, plopped down with exquisite photographic care in a beautiful New Mexico desert, and starring good actors who make a feast of their flavorful roles. Read more

Philip Wuntch, Dallas Morning News: Ms. Ackerman writes graceful dialogue and strong characters, while Mr. Scott, directing his third feature, has an actor-turned-director's regard for both the dialogue and the characterization. Read more

Scott Foundas, L.A. Weekly: To watch Off the Map is to be pulled into a private universe on the brink of civilization -- from which, at the end of two hours, it is impossible to exit unaffected. Read more

Jan Stuart, Newsday: Reveals its stage roots through prosaic narration (by Amy Brenneman, as the grown-up Bo) and metaphor-laden dialogue. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: If it's not the best example of a film's adaptation of a play -- well, it's a fine example of what independent, idiosyncratic filmmaking is all about. Read more

Jack Mathews, New York Daily News: Perhaps the most evocative movie of the new year. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: Slow, ruminative and dusted with wisps of folksy humor. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: A well-intended but weak and plodding art-house pretender. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: In a stealthy and touching way, it shows how people can work on one another. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: Its story meanders and doesn't build, and the pace is deadly, dictated by the rhythms of deep-feeling actors and not by a director with an urgent interest in the narrative. Then again, what narrative? Read more

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Read more

Time Out: Read more

Todd McCarthy, Variety: Most excels as a subtly observed study of how the dynamics within a close-knit family can shift over time. Read more

J. Hoberman, Village Voice: The perfs here are largely a matter of posing. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: Campbell Scott has made sure that every frame of this lushly beautiful film reflects the potent, almost mystical, effect the region's plateaus, canyons and deserts have on their human inhabitants. Read more

Desson Thomson, Washington Post: There's a collective scintillation about its rich, distinctive characters, narrative serendipity and ineffable magic. Read more