Off the Map | 
| Director: Campbell Scott
Actors: Amy Brenneman, Valentina De Angelis, Joan Allen, Sam Elliott, J.k. Simmons
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.94
Buy Used: $3.92
You Save: $16.02 (80%)
New (46) Used (27) from $3.92
Rating:  52 reviews
Sales Rank: 21187
Format: Ac-3, Color, Dolby, Dvd, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 99
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 110 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: D06041D
UPC: 043396060418
EAN: 0043396060418
ASIN: B0009S4J1O
Theatrical Release Date: March 11, 2005
Release Date: August 9, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
In the middle of the desert landscape of northern new mexico an extraordinary family is on a journey of self-discovery. In a place that seems off the map their lives are transformed as they find success in their own subtle ways. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 04/24/2007 Starring: Joan Allen Valentina De Angelis Run time: 110 minutes Rating: Pg13
Amazon.com
Off the Map avoids conventional drama (hardly any event leads to an outcome you could expect) but the lean, sharp dialogue and superb performances make this movie a rich, human comedy. A young girl named Bo, living in the New Mexico desert, rebels against her bohemian parents by reading Forbes magazine and applying for credit cards. Her father Charley (Sam Elliott, Tombstone) has sunk deep into a paralyzing depression; her resilient, industrious mother Arlene (Joan Allen, The Upside of Anger) alternates between gently supporting Charley and railing against his zombie-like state. Into this off-balance family comes a tax auditor (Jim True-Frost, Singles), who--after being stung by a bee and lapsing into a sudden fever--becomes an accidental catalyst for change. In her movie debut as Bo, Valentina de Angelis gives a wonderful performance, head and shoulders above most actors her age. Campbell Scott's direction, as with his first film Big Night, is warm but not sappy; he has a gift for letting a story wander without it ever getting lost. The New Mexico landscape glows in the sun and helps give Off the Map a quiet but mysterious vision of life. --Bret Fetzer
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| Customer Reviews: Read 47 more reviews...
 off the map May 4, 2009
Penny
One of my favorite movies. It is easy but not simple. Beautiful shots and the story but is deep and moving. The acting is the best.
You wont forget it.
Great Indy Film January 3, 2009
A. Bea (Central Illinois)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
If you haven't seen this film, see it. It's a keeper. I will tell you now, however, it's a little slow to start and more than a little quirky. It may not appeal to younger people for these reasons. No car chases.. nor big explosions..or small ones for that matter. There is some bad language. Stick to it, as the movie begins to evolve when the tax man enters the plot. A wonderful film with great acting and actors.
 So-so November 30, 2008
a. (Upstate, NY)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This movie was kind of pleasant, the scenery and the glimpse into New Mexico hippie life, but it put me to sleep, and I agree that the precocious girl was a bit annoying.
Painted Desert November 13, 2008
Lee Armstrong (Winterville, NC United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Joan Ackerman wrote the play on which this film is based. She's interviewed in the DVD featurette and acts in the most recent Campbell Scott project "Company Retreat." Campbell Scott, son of George C. Scott, does a good job directing this piece, always mixing in the unusual.
Despite a number of excellent performances, the star for me was Jim True-Frost who plays the I.R.S. agent William Gibbs. He wanders on the scene, unstable & out-of-place, and begins to blend in. True-Frost played Stephen Campbell, a man who murders his wife, on a chilling episode of my favorite TV show, "Medium." He was on cable's "The Wire" for six years as well as coming back for Campbell's "Company Retreat." He hit all the levels for me from the uncertain to the smitten and included realizations about his childhood as he delved into tears. This was a star performance.
Joan Allen is already a star with three Oscar nominations for "The Contender," "The Crucible" & "Nixon." She does a wonderful job in the film as Arlene. With a husband suffering from severe depression and a child who is growing up all too rapidly, she seems to accept life as it comes. Allen has this saucy irreverence, well reflected in her masterful performance in The Upside of Anger for which she won a Best Actress award from the Chicago Film Critics Association. In Arlene, the quality shines through a veneer of earth mother peacefulness.
Sam Elliott was recently in The Golden Compass (Widescreen Single-Disc Edition). His rugged good looks & demeanor often cast him as a strong, emotionally secure character. As Charley in this film, he is in the midst of a severe depression. Elliott's internal work for the character is impressive. I really appreciated when he comes out of his funk and gives Allen a sensual foot massage.
J.K. Simmons has worked A LOT! From the sassy newspaper editor in the Spiderman films to Juno (Single-Disc Edition) to appearances on cable TV's "The Closer," his is a face you know you've seen. He seems a bit simple as Charley's friend George, but willing to do anything as a good friend. To my great disappointment, the DVD I rented skipped a bit just after Charley dowses George with beer and then wrestles him to the floor. I wasn't quite sure how that one scene concluded. (Comments? :)
Amy Brenneman from TV's "Judging Amy" has a small cameo as the adult Bo. The young Bo who inhabits most of the film is played by newcomer Valentina de Angelis. Taking as much free reign as permissive parents might give, she complains about defective products to manufacturers to get free samples, examines George's checks, calls into the I.R.S. for William when a bee sting sidelines him, and then orders a $4,000 boat on a credit card for which she qualified through the mail. She would be a handful to most parents, but in the New Mexico desert seems to bloom as a free spirit.
The photography is lovely. The film is good but perhaps doesn't climax as well in the film version. I assume the climax is William Gibbs' demise, but it is rather understated, even though it is a turning point in these characters' lives. I found the featurette less than illuminating. For example at one point Joan Allen explains that at this point in the film she wants William to hand her a wrench, as if that weren't obvious. The painted desert of New Mexico is gorgeous. The audience at the Sarasota Film Festival voted "Off the Map" as their favorite. It is a lovely small film, well worth an evening's entertainment. Enjoy!
Brilliantly Wonderful for the Heart!!! August 29, 2008
Zebaulla (Australia)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Depression hits and it is such huge work trying to turn it all around and along comes this magic gift...WOW!
I found "Off The Map" so heart warmingly brilliant that I sat and watched it over again. I wanted to stay within the "given" within it all for-ever. I have never felt so loved and supported by a movie before.
To the Cast...THANK YOU!
To the ScreenPlay Writer ... Thank You!
To the Producer...Thank You!
To the Director ...Thank You!
I would love more wonderful gifts of this magnificence to made for the viewing, it is such a magically healing movie!
Zebaulla
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