Middle Of Nowhere [DVD + Digital]

In this, her first feature, Ava Du Vernay crafts yet another excellent, quiet film (see also I WILL FOLLOW). As the title predicts, several characters find themselves in between with little clarity about the best path to pursue. Du Vernay's direction makes the lead's remove from reality evident via camera shots that hold her apart from what is obvious to those who care about her. The moral questions surrounding trust, companionship, family, and self unfurl without melodrama, leaving the viewer asking questions and considering her own point of view while never judging the compellingly wrought characters at the movie's heart. Roger Ebert endorsed and helped bring Du Vernay's very worthy artistic debut into the mainstream. Don't miss this well-acted, finely drawn story of a young woman's search for a tolerable life.

This beautiful film brilliantly captures intimacy, longing, and disappointment in love and family from a fresh perspective. Ava DuVernay's excellent script comes alive and strikes a chord while still feeling quite real. Bradford Young's cinematography is stunning, as always. The cast is superb. Don't miss out on this gem. It only gets better every time I watch. I love the DVD commentary sharing insight on what it took to make such a great piece of art come alive.

4****, lethargic ending. Last 20 minutes lost the connection to the movie. Good quality up to then. I know so little about this but I do know a little bit about it. I started an organization to write letters to prisoners to give them hope and found out that prison was it own type of university. Lots of women's groups set up to write incarcerated people, men particularly, and end up realizing that their group was ill-equiped to make a difference for guy behind bards. But I put together a plan, a day by day plan, for this one guy that was getting out of prison trying to show him that he has to have a schedule for everything hour he is out of prison in order to reset his life to a goal. Sute, it didn't work out. The guy gout out of jprison in Oct. and went back in March. He blamed me, he said, because I was not there every step of the way. I let him know that I was "help" not co-dependent. I had sense enough to know not to be pulled into his quicksand while I tried to save him from it. So. Instead of him using that research and information I used it for my own life. I found out that I needed "saving" myself. I say from the start he was trying to rise to "afford" her and give her what he thought she deserved. I say if he got out of prison he would repeat the behavior trying to give her an RN, a-could-be-doctor what he thought she deserved while she wanted a good, hardworking man to be in her life and comfortable to be there because they loved each other. So, did she marry beneath her? Not at first, but he made it so. He made it an issue. After he got his final letter from her he likely stayed in prison or went right back when he got out and that is the same kind of emotion he had in the beginning that got him in prison. And that makes him really sad. And that makes the only thing really sad. Some men go to prison and straighten up and fly right because they want to, because want it for themselves, because they went there once but do everything they need to do not to go back. (And yes, the system ain't right.) But billions of people live and do everything they can not to get caught up in the system. ---MO

I thought this movie was EXECELLENT. I am currently married to an incarcerated Man, who came home got overwhelmed with what life was giving him, got caught up and went back after being home for 5 years. I am SOOOO glad that there is a movie that showed about the effects of prison life from the woman's point of view. Everyone forgets that there are women who deal with with this. Some deal with it voluntarily and some involuntarily. I am also the mother of an incarcerated man. There are so many layers to this type of relationship, I wish there were more movies made from this point of view. Everyday we are faced with the choice of staying and being supportive to them, or breaking away for our own sanity. My favorite scene was when she decided to walk away, no matter if you are in a relationship with a man on the outside or the inside, walking away is ALWAYS a hard thing to do, yet moreso when you are walking away from a man in prison. It takes a strong woman to know that she has done all she can and at some point if he still doesn't want to get his act together, she has to walk away for HER!

I saw this movie 3 time in 3 weeks. Great movie!! The camera angles, the story line and the acting all were super awesome!! Honestly, this is the best movie I saw in 2012. If you like movies based on real life situations, you'll LOVE this movie!! Can't wait for the DVD!

Great cast, and the story tries to tackle some significant isues,but the writing is not strong enough, the directing safe and unremarkable when it should be shap and penetraing. There is no strong cinematic senseibility .

And to think I wasn't even going to watch this movie because I thought it was just another low budget, badly acted waste of time. Boy was I wrong. This is the kind of engaging stories we need more of! The family dynamic was so captivating. Everyone who loves to delve into dysfunctional family drama this is the movie for you. Omari Hardwicke was superb and believable. It was well worth the money. I always love it when I'm wrong about a movie.

I liked this movie because I can relate to it...I am in the same situation myself...well similar...it's a hard thing to walk away from your husband while he's in prison but sometimes it's the best and right thing to do to keep your insanity. Why I should anyone have to continue doing the time with their spouse especially if he/she wasn't part of the crime...just saying..I can also relate to of her situation with family on both end being mother myself and also having a very judgmental mother.....Very good movie...