Time Out of Mind (2014) User Reviews

Man of the streets

[ferguson-6 · 6/10 · 8 September 2015]

Greetings again from the darkness. Poverty, mental illness and homelessness collide in this film from writer/director Oren Moverman (Oscar nominated for The Messenger). About the third time I asked myself if something was ever going to "happen", it dawned on me that it was already happening. This is Moverman's illumination of how society treats the homeless, and his vehicle comes in the surprising form of Richard Gere.

We follow George (Gere, making good use of his familiar facial tics and mannerisms) around the city as he bounces from vacant apartment to hospital to churches to second hand clothing stores … and finally to one of the city's homeless shelters. It's at this point where George befriends the talkative and seemingly helpful Dixon, played by the great Ben Vereen.

One of the key points the film makes is how the homeless are basically invisible to the rest of society. The characters describe this as being a cartoon – meaning, they aren't even "real" people to the masses of NYC. Supposedly, Gere was in character on the streets and was passed by without anyone noticing. Vereen's character helps George get on track for re-establishing his identity. See, without any form of ID, there is no welfare, food stamps, etc (except, of course, voting – a topic for another time). The only real sub-plot involves George and his estranged daughter played by the always excellent Jena Malone. She excels in her scenes with Gere, and provides the most sincere and affecting emotion in the film.

It's a very odd movie, as there are numerous "quick hit" scenes that feature such fine actors as Steve Buscemi, Michael Kenneth Williams, Kyra Sedgwick, Geraldine Hughes, and Jeremy Strong. None are on screen for much time, but each help demonstrate the daily challenges faced by the homeless who are so dependent on the charity of others.

It takes a patient viewer to stick with Gere's character as he comes to grips with his situation, but the camera work shooting inside/out and outside/in (through windows, doors, etc) provides visual interest, as do the lively and real sounds and movements of the streets of NYC. It may not pack the punch of The Messenger, but it's further proof that Oren Moverman's insightful projects deserve attention.

Richard Gere doing some brilliant acting in a not so obvious movie.

[peterp-450-298716 · 7/10 · 4 January 2017]

"Cause...normally, it's...you know, the parents takes care of the kid. Not really the other way around."

After watching "Time out of mind" I felt pity and at the same time a kind of relief coming over me. I pitied George who tries to escape the cold daily by hiding in the waiting room of a hospital or just riding the subway through New York. Pity because he always has to find himself a new coat to withstand the freezing cold because he traded his last one in a pawnshop for a bit of cash again. Pity because usually this money is needed to buy some cheap alcohol. Pity because it's difficult for homeless people to pick up the thread again or to be in order with the bureaucratic whirligig. And in addition, I felt this relief because I'm not living in such a hopeless situation and I don't need to struggle for survival all the time. Relieved because I do possess what these homeless people are missing.

My greatest admiration goes out to Richard Gere who succeeded seemingly effortlessly in changing into a person who's standing on the precipice of society. Despite George's unshaven and scruffy appearance, you still can catch a glimpse of Gere's good looks and seductive gaze at times. Even the social assistant who interviews him notices that. But Gere wasn't the most obvious choice in my opinion. It's the most contrarian part he could play, compared to his previous acting. George is the opposite of the characters he played in "American Gigolo" and "Pretty Woman". As Gere himself in real life, these characters are wealthy and without deficiencies. And still Gere manages to come across as the poor man who can't find a way out of the vicious circle he finds himself in. In other words, I'm starting to like the actor Gere more and more. Maybe it has to do with his age. Just like in "The Benefactor" it's not an obvious role or something to get credits for in an easy way. The only weak point in "The Benefactor" was the story on its own. Gere's acting on the other hand was sublime and admirable.

The story may seem rather long-winded, with a lot of boring intervals. However, it felt like the image sought to include George's everyday life. A useless existence with many moments where he's observing things expressionless, dozing off once and a while and patiently waiting until he can return to the safe city center for the homeless. Not that George stays there with conviction and pleasure. In his eyes, this is probably the low point in his sad life and he tried to avoid it as long as possible. The New York city life serves as a soundtrack. Bits of music you can hear from a random bar, followed by a random conversation held by a stranger on the phone or the loud music from a passing car. And this interspersed with images taken from afar out of different angles where we see George as a key figure in the center of this cacophony. A symbolic image that shows how insignificant he is as a person in this metropolis.

You can hardly call this movie a real crowd puller. And many who saw it, will probably claim that it's slow and monotonous. And although that was also my first impression, the film gradually fascinated me more and more. It's been a long time since I enjoyed an interaction between two totally different people like the one here with George and Dixon (Ben Vereen), an ancien among the homeless whose blabbering starts to annoy George from the beginning. Everyone will recognize Ben Vereen from a TV movie, but he was really unrecognizable in this movie. Although the attempt to pick up the thread again when it concerns his daughter Maggie (Jena Malone), this part of the story seems to become less important in relation to the larger whole. The way the movie ends seems simplistic and minimalistic. And yet the end fits perfectly with the rest of the film. "Time out of mind" at least impressed me.

More reviews here : http://bit.ly/1KIdQMT

Very humane

[valadas · 7/10 · 28 January 2017]

A simple story of a complicated life. A lonely man who was someone sometime is now reduced to the condition of a homeless and family less looking for shelter and food. He has no identity card of any kind which makes it difficult for him to get social security help or even a birth certificate copy. He was somebody once, he is nobody now and knows it. He has got an estranged daughter whom he meets from time to time at the bar where she works but who doesn't want to have any kind of relationship with him although she helps him sometimes with a beer or little money. He travels from homeless shelter to homeless shelter and subjects himself to long bureaucratic questionings trying to get documentary and security help. He meets another homeless man, an Afroamerican with whom he establishes a more humane relationship. This one is rather talkative and boasts of being (or having been) a jazz player. The last scene seems to show however that may be a more sentimental relation with his estranged daughter is about to start. Richard Gere does an excellent job as the protagonist.

Movie realistic

[leninrocco · 6/10 · 24 August 2018]

It's a simple and at the same time complicated film. Complicated to decipher the message that wants to convey through the language of the shots. Simple for the description and development of the character George who tries to restore a natural relationship with his daughter who has not seen for years and to describe his being and his consequent precarious and disadvantaged social condition. A completely atypical and passive acting as well as being completely categorical and absolutely empathic. The film certainly could be boring because the average viewer is used to a faster pace and a more active and active atmosphere, but the message he wants to bring is completely unique and different from the usual, which justifies him absolutely and certainly that it is not a film recommended to everyone.

Great performance in realistic tale

[dierregi · 6/10 · 23 December 2019]

Richard Gere is an amazing, but underestimated actor. Once again, he gives a great performance as George, a homeless man who "lost" ten years of his life. His story is realistic, because the reasons of his demise are not extraordinary.

George had financial problems, but the loss of his wife and being left with a young daughter pushed him beyond the boundaries that separate an ordinary life from a life in the street.

Like many homeless people, George wanders aimlessly, the lack of purpose of his life being the key issue. He tries to keep in touch with his daughter who despises him, but also feels sorry.

George also lost his documents and his weak attempts to start again a normal life are hindered by his lack of ID. A fellow homeless guy tries to help him, but their friendship is difficult because of their opposite personalities (and personality disorders).

Definitely melancholic, but worth a watch. Allegedly, Gere walked the streets of New York in character and nobody recognised him as the famous actor. But not only the physical appearance is spot on, the whole performance is, just as well.

Not the most effective film, yet its intention is felt

[Arit · 12 September 2014]

Watching Time Out of Mind requires a lot of patience. For one thing, every time a scene becomes interesting, it abruptly cuts to another, disallowing your attention to take a full hold. Another thing is the voyeuristic long lens and unfiltered city noise, which are meticulous, but only work as obstacles when you try to observe the main character closely.

The ultimate problem is, however, this story of a homeless man tells not much more than what you have known or imagined before. It's hard to sympathize with Richard Gere's protagonist who is in constant denial, and the film, for the most part, visualizes only what is already visible, and merely scratches the surface of this troubled soul's current state.

The later part of the film becomes noticeably engaging when it employs some close-up shots and background music. You finally start feeling for each character and recognize the chemistry of actors, but you cannot help but wonder if the dramatic value of this is really worth all the leading time.

The film's execution is thus questionable, but one thing for sure is the sincere intention of actor-producer Gere. He wants us to take another look at the problem we all know exists by presenting it the way it is. It's interesting to know that, in his panhandler costume, the lead actor still looks handsome and healthy; yet people choose to go around and never bother to look close enough to notice a movie star. It would have been a far more interesting film if Gere had also delved into the minds of those people passing by, instead of just glancing over the mind of the homeless man.

Home Gere

[Prismark10 · 2/10 · 27 August 2016]

Director Oren Moverman never wants us to get close to the subjects in Time out of mind. He shoots the film from a distance so we feel like voyeurs eavesdropping in some half finished conversation.

We follow George Hammond (Richard Gere) a disorientated homeless man with no id, papers or money. We know little about him, how he got to this predicament. As the film goes on we realise he can be badly behaved, peeing on the street, he likes to drink and he wants to obtain his birth certificate. He also has a daughter that he wants to get close to but gauging from her reaction, she hates him.

Nothing much happens as George wanders around New York, looking for places to sleep, keep warm, getting something to drink and beg for money. George tries to get a place in a homeless shelter and has to go through tons of questions as various officials assess him. His memory seems hazy and he befriends another homeless man, the motor mouthed Dixon (Ben Vereen) who helps him to survive the streets and helps him get social security.

We get a committed performance from Richard Gere but the film is a borefest. There is no narrative and no story. A docudrama with no purpose apart from being a slice of life look at the plight of the homeless.

TIFF 2014 Review: Time Out of Mind

[lucasnochez · 7/10 · 19 September 2014]

In 2009, director Oren Moverman created one of the most relevant and moving post-9/11 war films of our generation with The Messenger. Blending subtle realities of the peculiarities of individual family traditions with the overly-patriotic mentality of American society, the film was a deliverance of cinematic importance and high entertainment. Five years later, and after his sophomore feature Rampart, Moverman returns to the screen with Time Out of Mind, a film that showcases another unglamourous reality of Western society; homelessness.

It is no surprise that Moverman is being recognized as one of America's foremost independent filmmakers in a short period of time. Paying great attention to visual style as well as sonic and narrative elements of his films, the director offers an observational cinematic piece that is both powerfully empathetic and transformative for the perception of an unwanted and disconcerting part of society.

Time Out of Mind is a fairly simple film, with an easy to follow premise. What draws the film to the territory of deep pain and sentiment is the process in which the film so obviously takes to deliver a multi-layered understanding of the most unnoticed population of society.

One of the first and more interesting details that draws our attention to the film is the choice to cast Richard Gere as George; a dishevelled and drunk homeless man. Barely walking the streets of New York City, drunk, humiliated and decrepit, Gere embodies to the best of his abilities the 'typical bum'. An American acting master and icon known for his more debonair roles, Gere covers himself in rags and abandons the riches to play George, a man who describes his existence as one, big life-long quarrel.

Down on his luck and left with nothing after the death of his wife, George, barely fighting off the frigid temperatures of the Big Apple after being kicked out of a dilapidated apartment, finds refuge in one of the few temporary housing projects found within the concrete jungle. More like a prison than a home, George finds minor solace once he befriends a seasoned homeless man Dixon (Ben Vereen) as well as various opportunities to re-connect with his daughter Maggie (Jena Malone).

Once the audience gets over the bizarre casting choice of Gere in the lead role, we are able to observe, as Moverman does, the bigger picture. Moverman, along with director of photographer Bobby Bukowski (who seemed to have more films at TIFF this year than the Weinstein brothers), achieve excellence in the visual style of filmmaking for Time Out of Mind. Adopting a distinct, original perspective by placing a very displaced and stagnant George (Gere) amongst the bustling and busy city of New York, along with its people, shining street lights and fast-paced tempo, George's isolation as well as self-deprecated demeanour is always seen and understood from a distance without ever really getting too close.

While the star and filmmaker professed that much of the filming took place on the New York City streets during the day, when Gere was in costume, no one seemed to recognize him nor cared to be very close to him. This initial, obvious reaction by people when they are seen coming into contact with homeless individuals, is embodied fully by Moverman and Bukowski, thanks to the use of shooting scenes on rooftops, through the reflections of puddles, liquor stores or ultra- zooming the lens from blocks away. In a way, the film is a highly researched yet fairly obvious mentality of people who go out of their way to notice and avoid the street walkers of big cities. Time Out of Mind, simply for being an innovative look at the life of shelter-dwellers, casts a very respectable spell on its audience.

Although the film may seem thirty minutes too long, Moverman delivers an intimate portrait that discovers uncharted territory in independent American cinema using A-List Hollywood talent. Gere, who is front-and-centre as George throughout the film, never taking a break away from the camera, really delivers on, what seemed to be his passion project. Sadly, Gere, who is still solid as George, never really allows us to believe in his strife. Operating at low gear, torquing and reeling in his audience with subtle charm and wit, Gere is constantly overshadowed, despite powerful scenes, including a delicate moment of realization.

Whether hovered over a piano as Dixon, looking at the black-and-white keys, Vereen outshines Gere as a talkative homeless veteran, delivering nuanced and emotionally responsive scenes naturally and effortlessly. Yet, the real star of the film, given her limited screen-time, is Malone, a Moverman staple, who steals scenes with Gere in a laundromat, on the streets, or in the final scenes of a bar. Malone's facial expressions alone captivate, and comment greatly on a usually undocumented time when children, who are equally struggling in life professionally, emotionally and mentally, have to be the ones to support their parents, and not the other way around. Malone is nothing short of an acting revelation.

Time Out of Mind is the quintessential definition of Moverman's experimental apathetic filmmaking technique. George is living in a world that is constantly moving and happening around him. Life is literally passing him by. It is in his stillness, Moverman's confident casting decision and powerful commentary that the film allows us to forget it's flaws of pace and time.

Richard Gere is "The Most Attractive Bum in the World"

[jacroll · 5/10 · 15 September 2014]

This film is about a homeless man coming to grips with the fact that he is actually a homeless guy. Like the idea being that maybe most homeless people don't believe they are chronically homeless, that they think they are between places. And then some are just constantly between places. This is the case for our bum in this picture. This movie is about a bum coming to grips with the fact that he is not in between places, that he is a real 100% bum and he needs to take life by the horns and man up and start taking this bum stuff seriously: Like getting a birth certificate, like applying for meal tickets, like finding a shelter that he can call home (well not home b/c he is homeless).

All this culminates in an "aha" moment for him when he realizes "OMFG I'm really a bum! Like 100% homeless this is who I am man!" And that's the movie. Oh and the entire time you're like that is the most good looking bum I've ever seen, like Richard Gere good looking bum. Seriously this guy is homeless? He should hop on a bus and go to Hollywood, they're always looking for pretty faces.

Loose, aimless, but often engrossing.

[Sergeant_Tibbs · 7/10 · 14 September 2015]

After my first encounter with Oren Moverman's direction style with his stunning debut The Messenger, it's very surprising that he dialled back and made a subdued film like Time Out Of Mind for his third feature. I've yet to see the infamous Rampart, but I'm a fan of his other writing work for unconventional musician biopics with I'm Not There and this year's Love & Mercy. Bringing in one of the many Dylans of the former, Richard Gere, he's presenting one of his most restrained works, almost to a fault. It's very loose and aimless, but as a portrait of homelessness, it can be quite apt, however that only goes so far. While The Messenger is very intimate and in-your-face at times, this is deliberately disconnected with the frequently impressive photography selecting angles of Gere from several feet back and behind glass. At once it shows a world that reflects how we distance ourselves from the homeless and how it's such a volatile place where anything can come around the corner and harm them. It improves as the plot gently thickens as Gere's George Hammond tracks down his daughter and makes attempts to find sources of staying afloat.

He's a more passive protagonist than you'd expect, one beaten down by offscreen years of apparent exhausting failure, but his eventual effort to get back somewhat on his feet is a minor catharsis. If George was more developed it could have been one of Gere's finest performances, but he at least feels very lived-in. He's sympathetic, but anytime he opens his mouth it gives us more reason not to like him and understanding of why he's there. It usually comes from a brutally honest place. Also that casting of Gere gives a thorough implication that the homeless can be anyone, as does the inclusion of Ben Vereen. If anything, it shows how hard it is to get back on the system if you step off it. But while it's a loose yet controlled film, the problem is its ambiguity and its simplicity. A lot of the themes you immediately skim off feel a little obvious and undercooked for such a disconnected package. It could've been more complex, but maybe it is and it's too cryptic to pick up on what Moverman is trying to do. Still, Time Out Of Mind is quite good work from everyone, including Jena Malone, and it definitely doesn't deserve the critical lashing it received at festivals. It's certainly engrossing, if not completely satisfying.

7/10

Why make a social movie so tough to watch?

[bellino-angelo2014 · 3/10 · 7 July 2023]

While I am not a fan of Richard Gere I liked most of the few movies I saw with him and I think that at times he can do different from his usual dashing screen persona, and well. Unfortunately, this was not the case.

It begins with George (Gere) that is seen kicked out of his apartment by Art Jackson (Steve Buscemi) and we soon find out that the apartment wasn't his but it was rented to an evicted acquaintance. After George is out on the road he shows all kind of unease: he claims that someone stole his wallet, various phone calls for help aren't answered and we viewers can only assume that he lived this way since a while, and he is forced to sleep on the streets. After a while he goes in a hospital emergency room and a nurse treats him with compassion while denying that he is homeless, pawning his very few things for buying booze and eventually getting a bed in a homeless center. In all this George is reconciliating with his daughter who works as a bartender but all his attempts are vain, and he gets worse and worse.

To say that TIME OUT OF MIND is dull is certainly an understatement. It took very long to begin and in most moments the pace was snail-paced to the point that I couldn't wait that it was over (a certainly bad sign if you follow my reviews) as soon as possible. And despite it being a social movie about a plague that afflicts also Italians like me, it was tough to watch and depressing as well. Our lead is shown as a idiot who lives in denial of being homeless and that can't even manage to restore his relationship with his daughter... can you relate to such a character? I certainly didn't.

And now we come to the third strike of the movie, or, the straw that broke the camel's back. The ending was one of the most confusing I have seen in a long time. It starts with George that talks to his new black friend (the late Michael K. Williams) about his only moments of pleasure are with six-packs. Then he goes to his usual bar for a beer, and starts talking to his daughter about some tangled things (perhaps someone understood them, but who cares) and there is a misunderstanding. George then slowly flees from the bar and we don't see him anymore, just a long shot of the street and then the end credits appear.

The acting was lazy by everyone except Buscemi (and I think that he appeared for only 10 minutes at the beginning because he knew that the movie would have stank, so it's better to flee), and Gere kinda overacted in some moments halfway. Only the cinematography was good, but considering how the movie is bad, you can't certainly care.

Overall, a very bad social movie thanks probably to a script that should have been re-written all over again and to characters impossible to relate. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone not even for the subject because if you know someone that ended up living on the road, this movie would make you more and more sad.

No Man is an Island..Unless He Is

[debrahotmer · 7/10 · 14 March 2018]

The noisiest quiet film I've ever seen. Oren Moverman is like a conductor of an orchestra wherein the ceaseless sounds of city life and the all-enveloping silence of loneliness collide to create a thought provoking study into character, meaning, and priorities. Richard Gere, Ben Vereen and Kyra Sedgewick all perform perfectly with the dull shine of tarnished silver.

More boring than watching paint dry!!

[okieindian · 1/10 · 16 December 2015]

Another touchy/feely movie from people who are neither touchy or feely!! These people that sit in their ivory towers and dream up GREAT movies re things they know nothing about, having never done anything to help with the problem and never having experienced what they attempt to depict on film are nothing more than leeches, sucking the "blood" (money) from those who pay to watch garbage on film and laughing all the way to the bank. Nothing in this movie is representative of homeless people.. A prime example is having Gere guzzle down a bottle of booze, non-stop, and then walk over sober as he continues on his merry way.. Still, the elitist among us want to see this as some truly revealing expose on the plight of the homeless. This has to be the most boring film I've ever watched.. Period.

Out of mind indeed

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 2 February 2016]

A tough movie to watch to say the least. It's not all shine and glory in this one. A lot of people would say this movie qualifies as "waste of time". And it is, if you cannot tune into the mindset and the general idea of the movie. What it tries to tell us and how it tries to achieve that goal. It could easily be a documentary. Actually some scenes could be have been shot "on the fly".

Gere goes all out for a role that really is tough to pull off. Homeless people are not something most of us are concerned, especially when it does affect us directly. And it is showing with how we handle them or how we approach them (there are a few things/scenes early on, that underline that sentiment). It's drama and if you are prepared for it, the movie will reward you. But if it's not your thing, you'll know early on and shouldn't continue to watch ...

A very good, very heavy & emotional movie that will affect you. A great character study of the real struggles of the homeless

[cosmo_tiger · 6/10 · 14 December 2015]

"I'm homeless. I'm nobody. I don't exist." George (Gere) is a homeless man struggling to survive in New York. Spending his days begging for food and money he is at the end of his rope. When he meets another man in the same position he finds a friend and someone that he can lean on for help. When he tries to reconnect with his daughter Maggie (Malone) everyone involved has to look at themselves and their past. This is a difficult movie to review. The movie itself is OK, very depressing but it keeps you watching even though nothing really happens. On the other hand I have never thought Richard Gere was that great of an actor, until this movie. This is a great character study of the real struggles a homeless person goes through. This is a very good movie, but not really one to watch for entertainment purposes. Overall, a very good, but very heavy and emotional movie that will affect you. I give this a B.

Nameless, faceless, and homeless in NYC.

[TxMike · 18 December 2015]

I found this movie on Netflix streaming, it has mixed reviews and wasn't sure I wanted to take the two hours to watch it. Having done so, I am glad that I did.

Richard Gere, in his mid-60s, is George. It is clear that he has no place to call home. We don't know exactly how long he has been in this situation but he mentions that something occurred 10 years ago.

He has developed a routine of sorts, he sometimes goes into the waiting room of a hospital or a bus station to escape the cold, even if it is temporarily. He changes coats often, because while few will give him money for booze it is somewhat easy to get a coat then sell it to a thrift shop for booze money.

He also occasionally visits a food kitchen or gets a bed in a shelter. But he seems always in a daze of sorts and when he does take the time to have an agency help him get aid he has no ID and can't even remember his Social Security Number.

At one point he meets up with Ben Vereen as Dixon, also homeless. We see them together most of the time, while George hardly ever says anything Dixon just can't shut up. Perhaps Dixon is a construct of George's imagination, we are not sure.

George has an estranged daughter, 30-ish Jena Malone as Maggie. We are not told what exactly is the issue but George knows he has not been a good father.

There is a ray of hope at the end, that George may be getting the help he needs to get back on his feet, and reestablish some sort of relationship with Maggie. Dixon disappears, which may be a sign of George's move towards sanity.

The movie does not movie very fast and many will likely find it "slow and boring" but I never did. I am not far from George's age, I have encountered man like him in large cities over the years, it has always been puzzling how people end up that way.

Of interest Gere does his own piano playing and wrote one of the pieces for the movie. Also Malone sings the final, haunting song during the end credits.

Not really worth it.

[qwsxz73 · 1/10 · 7 October 2014]

This film was....how can I say it politely? A waste of time. It was also a waste of money. It was certainly different, but it was different in a way that I can only describe as unexpected yet unwanted. Do not waste your time watching this, I fell asleep by the end of the film, thinking this is never going to end. Movie is slow, Boring, no thrill, hardly any real suspense, and confuses a viewer more than anything else. The acting wasn't good, worse movie ever. The cinematography is nothing special to talk about. Its a lousy job from, Direction to Screenplay to even Background music. Being a Drama fan i don't miss out on any Drama movies. Don't be fooled by the IMDb rating. This movie IMO deserves not more than 1/10/. Sorry but i am a harsh judge of Drama movies, because I Love Drama. How did this movie ever get a 6.7 rating here, is beyond my comprehension.

Possibly brilliant but perhaps too ambitious and stylistic to accomplish its goals

[Robert_duder · 6/10 · 21 August 2015]

So often I read another IMDb reviewers work and think "Wow I could not have said it better myself." The review on the main page really hits the nail on the head with Time Out of Mind. In the first paragraph he states that the film takes a lot of patience to get through and my gosh does it ever. If this had been any other film I would have given up because it is brutally slow, completely non-conventional, heavy handed and some would say (for a medium of entertainment) dull. And yet you feel compelled to continue through it because of the subject matter. The film is undeniably depressing and there really is no plot. He is trying to make amends with his daughter in some fashion but that is only one small flicker of plot in the film. The purpose of this film is to take a glimpse inside the life of someone who is homeless. The ups and downs, the emotional upheaval, the denial, the mental illness that begins to set in for whatever reason. We are given very little back story to our main character and yet you begin to piece little things together. The entire film is this man ambling around New York from one day to the next living his version of life and trying to figure out a way out. In some ways its compelling and in some ways it just doesn't strike the right chords to be really effective.

My reason for watching the film was Richard Gere. He is and always has been one of my favourite actors. This is a very dark, depressing role for him and doesn't exactly give him the opportunity to floor you and yet in his subtly is where the performance is good. You completely believe him and the struggles and his denial and everything he has been through and yet you can't help but feel that he's done a lot of things to put himself into this position. He's an empathetic character but also one you sort of don't feel sorry for at times. I think he plays the role very realistically because of this. Its a subtle role. Jena Malone is really the only other "main" character and she only has a few scenes. She is decent enough in her role but there is no development because she is there just to serve a purpose. The supporting cast are recognizable faces from various other projects. Steve Buscemi, Danielle Brooks, Abigail Savage, Ben Vereen and Tonye Patano are some of the more notable appearances however brief some of them may be.

I'm fascinated by Oren Moverman's work in this film. He wrote and directed the movie and I think he really put a lot of effort into this and really wanted to make it unique, possibly to a fault. He uses a lot of long wide angle shots but the purpose (I think) is to show the world around this man. There are so many times when you can hear or see a random event or person's conversation that has nothing to do with our main character but its simply happening around him. There has got to be a distinct message there and I'm not sure I know exactly what it is but its worth thinking about and any film that actually attempts to be something more than mindless entertainment deserves at least a nod in kudos. Most movie watchers will find this film excruciatingly slow but there is a message here and I think its morbid curiosity that makes us hang in there to see where it goes. There is a hint of redemption but a realistic view of homelessness. 6/10

Come for Gere, leave cuz of Gere

[TuesdayThe17th · 5/10 · 10 March 2021]

This is a hollow film. It isnt even really a movie but rather an experimental portrayal of a newly homeless man coming to terms with his life in the streets. There is little to no entertainment here. This is meant to be an intimate piece but it ultimately falls short as this movie is not very effective. There are few parts that you can feel the films intentions deep in your bones. Other than that the film lacks big time and its unfortunate because Richar Gere just so happens to be my favorite old timer actor. This movie does not continue his masterful acting but actually only hurts his portfolio. There is little dialogue and any dialogue there is doesnt come from Gere. He makes too.many faces in this movie and doesnt allow himself to relax in the role. He is also quite corny at times and it gets annoying that he is so stubbornly in denial when he is the one who created his circumstances. He couldnt have had such a great life before if he ended up where he is currently in the fil. This movie truly means well but again, the acting is stale. Even from Jena Malone who i also adore. Luckily for Gere, his stint didnt last as he is really good in "The Benefactor" and "The Dinner" which both came out after this film. I appreciate the message in this movie but movies like this need to be effective. Unfortunately this one was not.

into the background

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 1 July 2016]

George (Richard Gere) is homeless in New York. He gets kicked out of Sheila's apartment by Art (Steve Buscemi) and his workers. He is sleeping on the streets, and hanging out at the hospital as he tries to navigate the system. He stays at a shelter. On the streets, he's accosted by Dixon (Ben Vereen) who befriends him. He is estranged from his daughter Maggie (Jena Malone).

It's a mostly reserved performance. Gere basically disappears into this role. In some scenes, he fades into the background. It's a really compelling idea of the modern untouchables. There isn't much of a dramatic story as he drifts from one scene to the next. There are some memorable moments like the crazy guy in the next bunk in the shelter. The movie is unnecessarily long. One could get the same points in something with thirty minutes less.

People who rated this movie higher than 1 clearly

[cmv32261 · 1/10 · 21 April 2016]

People who rated this movie higher than 1 clearly never had to deal with people with mental illness.

What was the moral of the story?, proof that our system is screwed up? Sad fact is that unless you have Federal and State governments, and the Judicial system working together to commit the mentally ill to mental institutions, people who cannot or will not (i.e.) refuse to seek treatment and follow their doctor's advice homelessness will continue the same holds true for those with chemical dependency and self medicating mentally ill.

My former and now deceased fiancé suffered from the symptoms of Bipolar Depression and PTSD, I met her back in late 2013 when she lived in the apartment right below mine, she immediately told me about her mental illnesses, she failed to tell me that the symptoms were far from under control.

My mentally ill former fiancé self medicated, she drank liquor that intensified the symptoms of her Bipolar Depressionand she smoke Marijuana, since the primary symptom of PTSD is Paranoid Schizophrenia the THC intensified her paranoia.

My mentally ill former, and now deceased fiancé tried committing suicide overdosing on Lithium kicked in my apt. door, wrecking door and door frame, spent 7-9 days at county mental hospital, was evicted from the apt. complex I still reside at.

A year later my former and now deceased fiancé, 9 mos. earlier we both mutually agreed that due to her illness she was unable to maintain a serious relationship with any man, as I was saying she attempted suicide a 2nd time, this time she tried by overdosing on Latuda and Lamictal, I was not present at the time, yes she was institutionalized for a time, but unaware of how long.

October 10, 2015, 7 mos. from her 2nd attempt at her 2nd attempt at committing suicide, she was living with a couple who knew what her mental issues were, the man in the relationship has mental issues of his own, as I was saying he had a loaded handgun laying around which she found, shot herself in the head killing herself.

My former fiancé was only 41 yrs. old, if the court system had had her committed to an institution where she was under 24/7 supervision and forced to take medication to treat her symptoms she would still be with me.

I learned absolutely nothing enlightening from this movie.

Realistically grim, with no gratuitous action scenes

[AJ4F · 8/10 · 14 October 2015]

This is exactly what I might feel like if I were homeless or just aimless, which I've been at times. The boredom and daily routines stripped down to basic necessities seemed very realistic. It stood out as the only "bum film" I've seen that didn't seem cliché-ridden.

Those who need constant hooks to stay entertained probably won't get it, but it does have its share of tense moments. There's also the mystery of how he reached that state, including an apparent scar that I originally thought belonged to Gere but may have been created for the film. Those who stick with it for awhile may get mesmerized by the slow, detailed story.

The film was apparently not widely publicized, hence the small number of reviews at the moment. A reviewer who glibly gave it one star skewed the overall rating here (come on, people). I highly recommend it for viewers with intellect, though it's about a guy who's lost some of his.

Uncomfortable reality - a better world is possible

[MegaSuperstar · 6/10 · 31 May 2019]

Filmed as if a day in the life of a clochard. Coming and going. People passing by, not even noticing the invisible people who live off the welfare society although immerse in it. People who have lost home, posessions, documents, identity... some even their mind. These are the outcasts. Those who have nothing, who own nothing and who are banned from society. The poorest of the poor living in one of world's richest civilisation but out of it. Those who no one sees and no one cares for. The lumpen, the underclass. Disposessed. Like in Jacques Tati's Playtime, sound of the city and people talking is constantly heard although unintelligible, causing an uncomfortable feeling on viewer as Gere's character may feel about the rest of the world. The film puts the effort on portraying homeless' dayly life errant wandering, walking from place to place, with nowhere to go, but fails in portraying the man who was before, the motive that would make us viewers to really empathize with him: the reason why he lead to these situation and what lies behind it. Only brief flashes are hardly explained. The man who was behind the shadow he has become to. Richard Gere gives a convincent portrayal of a man who, unable to face reality, ends with mid lost mind due to alcohol abbuse and who until the very end is reluctant to consider himself a homeless. A film to think about..

"Time Out of Mind"

[dave-mcclain · 4/10 · 18 October 2015]

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+"

Justifiably slow ...

[filton · 6/10 · 7 May 2016]

A really very good evocation of what being on the streets must be like. The film drags and meanders - just as Richard Gere's character does. The aesthetic is very distinctive - the city's bustle by day and neon glare by night as a backdrop to the drab plight of the scruffy, direction-less Gere, while some of the framing is absolutely exquisite.

I do think that Gere's good looks and charisma as an actor shine through a little too boldly - someone like John C. Reilly, for example, might have been a better choice for the main role - and there's the feeling that the ending, while heart-warming, might be a bit of a cop-out. But all in all, it's a very involving, eye-opening study.