|

New This Week
Critics & Publications
Archives: A-Z Index
Advanced Search
Upcoming Release Calendar
Awards & Bests By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Film In Our Forums

97
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
xx
Beer for My Horses
75
Boy A
xx
Christmas on Mars: A Fantastical Film Freakout Featuring the Flaming Lips
48
Death Defying Acts
85
Edge of Heaven, The
33
Elite Squad
80
Encounters at the End of the World
20
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
86
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
54
Get Smart
73
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
34
Happening, The
25
Hell Ride
78
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
44
Henry Poole is Here
61
Incredible Hulk, The
65
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
46
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer
57
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D
xx
Kiss the Bride
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
73
Kung Fu Panda
52
Milarepa
62
Mister Foe
53
Mister Lonely
74
Mongol
61
On the Rumba River
83
Paranoid Park
32
Perfect Holiday, The
49
Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie, The
63
Planet B-Boy
72
Priceless
63
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, The
70
Standard Operating Procedure
35
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
57
Stone Angel, The
47
Strangers, The
61
Stuck
55
Sukiyaki Western Django
63
This Christmas
71
To the Limit
72
Transsiberian
71
Tropic Thunder
79
Visitor, The
93
WALL-E
37
War, Inc.
xx
Whaledreamers
54
What We Do Is Secret
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
54
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
39
Young People F**king
45
Zombie Strippers
97
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
93
WALL-E
86
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
85
Edge of Heaven, The
83
Paranoid Park
80
Encounters at the End of the World
79
Visitor, The
78
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
75
Boy A
74
Mongol
73
Kung Fu Panda
73
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
72
Priceless
72
Transsiberian
71
To the Limit
71
Tropic Thunder
70
Standard Operating Procedure
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
65
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
63
Planet B-Boy
63
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, The
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
63
This Christmas
62
Mister Foe
61
Stuck
61
On the Rumba River
61
Incredible Hulk, The
57
Stone Angel, The
57
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D
55
Sukiyaki Western Django
54
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
54
Get Smart
54
What We Do Is Secret
53
Mister Lonely
52
Milarepa
49
Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie, The
48
Death Defying Acts
47
Strangers, The
46
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer
45
Zombie Strippers
44
Henry Poole is Here
39
Young People F**king
37
War, Inc.
35
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
34
Happening, The
33
Elite Squad
32
Perfect Holiday, The
25
Hell Ride
20
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
xx
Whaledreamers
xx
Christmas on Mars: A Fantastical Film Freakout Featuring the Flaming Lips
xx
Kiss the Bride
xx
Beer for My Horses
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Off the Map
Holedigger Studios
FILM:
MPAA RATING: PG-13 for nudity and thematic elements
Starring
J.D. Hawkins,
Joan Allen,
Amy Brenneman,
Valentina de Angelis,
Sam Elliott,
J.K. Simmons,
Kevin Skousen,
and
Jim True-Frost
Across the ancient high desert landscape of northern New Mexico, an extraordinary family embarks on a lyrical journey of self-discovery that reveals unexpected moments of grace and the unpredictable but enduring nature of love. In Campbell Scott's Off the Map, the poetry of a time and a place marked by simplicity comes into full bloom. (Manhattan Pictures International)
| GENRE(S): |
Drama
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Joan Ackermann (also play)
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Campbell Scott
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: August 9, 2005
Theatrical: March 11, 2005
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
105 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
USA |

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
100
Christian Science Monitor
David Sterritt
Scott has the courage to let the imaginative story unfold at its own leisurely pace, and it's not surprising that the acting is excellent, considering that he's among the very best American screen actors.

90
LA Weekly
Scott Foundas
A small masterpiece of tone and form.

88
Chicago Tribune
Michael Wilmington
One of those sweet, intelligent, nicely made films.

88
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
Off the Map is visually beautiful as a portrait of lives in the middle of emptiness, but it's not about the New Mexico scenery. It's about feelings that shift among people who are good enough, curious enough or just maybe tired enough to let that happen.

88
Boston Globe
Ty Burr
Rambles without apparent purpose, and yet it blooms in emotional impact as it goes.

80
Wall Street Journal
Joe Morgenstern
The movie's sense of place is hypnotic, but there's more to it than gorgeous images -- Campbell Scott's astute direction; Joan Allen's beautifully laconic performance; a sense of lively, if occasionally pretentious, inquiry into the wellsprings of art.
80
Washington Post
Desson Thomson
There's a collective scintillation about its rich, distinctive characters, narrative serendipity and ineffable magic.

75
New York Daily News
Jack Mathews
Perhaps the most evocative movie of the new year, Campbell Scott's Off the Map, moves at the pace of a Southwestern sunset and ends before you're quite ready to let it go.

75
Rolling Stone
Peter Travers
The funny and heartbreaking Off the Map, directed with a poet's eye and a keen ear for nuance by Campbell Scott, resonates with something rare in today's movies: simplicity.

75
Entertainment Weekly
Lisa Schwarzbaum
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.

75
Philadelphia Inquirer
Steven Rea
Directed with an easygoing grace by Campbell Scott, has the feel of a coming-of-age novel.

75
Baltimore Sun
Chris Kaltenbach
The people are just a little too calculatedly quirky in Off the Map, an otherwise engaging comedy.

75
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
William Arnold
It's well-written, well-cast and skillfully directed in every scene, and, at the same time, it doesn't come together with enough impact to be hugely memorable.

70
Washington Post
Ann Hornaday
A joy to watch.

70
The New York Times
Stephen Holden
With a director, screenwriter and star who have deep roots in the theater, Off the Map is more than anything an actor's film.

70
Los Angeles Times
Carina Chocano
It takes a rugged survivalist mentality to sit through 108 minutes of Off the Map, a self-consciously loopy and mystical drama about a family that lives off the map, off the grid, off the land and mostly off their meds in the mangy desert of New Mexico.

70
Chicago Reader
Patrick Z. McGavin
The plot is minimal, but the film is essentially an acting showcase. Allen is excellent.

70
Film Threat
Don R. Lewis
Any minor flaws Off the Map has are easily forgiven by great acting and beautifully shot landscapes. Campbell Scott does a great job of adapting a stage play (by screenwriter Joan Ackerman) to film as well.

70
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Scott Tobias
Off The Map feels peculiar and remote, strangled by an air of arty disengagement. The most vivid characters are the earth and the sky, and they both give stellar performances.

70
Variety
Todd McCarthy
Campbell Scott's latest foray behind the camera most excels as a subtly observed study of how the dynamics within a close-knit family can shift over time.

67
Austin Chronicle
Marrit Ingman
Ultimately the film manages a warm, offbeat appeal despite its flaws, and it has real heart.

60
Dallas Observer
Luke Y. Thompson
Simmons plays it understated, conveying a sad-sack quality that's more relatable than Charley's irrational catatonia. The movie should have been about him instead.

60
TV Guide
Ken Fox
Surprisingly, it works: The overwhelming natural expanse of the New Mexico desert is perfectly balanced by the psychic space Charley and Arlene create - the space where all the real action takes place.

58
Portland Oregonian
Shawn Levy
One of those American independent films with two chief points to recommend it: the earnest good will of its creators and its determination to be unlike any studio film.

50
New York Post
Lou Lumenick
A beautifully acted if fairly poky coming-of-age story.

38
Charlotte Observer
Lawrence Toppman
It's a disconnected, implausible story that aims for a tone of magic realism and falls short on both counts.

30
Village Voice
J. Hoberman
Were it not so soporific, Off the Map could easily drive you off your nut.

25
San Francisco Chronicle
Mick LaSalle
Its story meanders and doesn't build, and the pace is deadly.

The average user rating for this movie is 8.9 (out of 10) based on 22 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Read more user comments...
Discuss this movie in our forums |
|