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Time Out of Mind
The plight of the homeless in Manhattan is dramatized in 2014's Time Out of Mind, a well-intentioned if not totally accurate look at the human condition manifested through homelessness which is exaggerated for dramatic effect but the emotional power of which cannot be denied.
The film stars Richard Gere as George, a homeless man who after attempting to survive on the streets can no longer deny that the weather is getting too cold to remain on the streets and finds himself turning to a heartless system in the form of a men's detention center which eventually moves him to a homeless shelter where he actually makes a friend named Dixon(Ben Vereen) while trying to cling to the remnants of the relationship with his bitter daughter (Jena Malone).
Having worked for non-profit organizations that involved direct contact with the homeless community I must say that the director/co-screenwriter's presentation of the homeless is a lot different than what I've seen. Where I live, the homeless community is exactly that...they are a community of people who know each other and sometimes help each other and sometimes steal from each other, but they are a group of people who usually look out for each other when it comes down to it. Until he meets Dixon, which doesn't happen until halfway through the film, George is portrayed as being all alone on the streets. not knowing anyone and no one knowing him and though it made for effective drama, it wasn't terribly realistic.
When we first meet George, he is sleeping in the bathtub in an empty brownstone where he is heartlessly kicked out by a superintendent (Steve Buscemi). The super asks George how he got into the apartment and George never answers. I was curious to see what he would say because there is NO way a homeless person could break into an empty brownstone and sleep there. but then we see a battle with the buzzers where he leans on them until someone buzzes him, something else I don't see occurring IRL either.
One sequence that rang totally true and really summed up the sensibility of the homeless was when George is observed selling the coat off his back , buying beer with the money. and then going to a church to get another coat. This story seems to intimate a correlation between homelessness and mental illness but doesn't explore it fully.
What does work here is some really imaginative camerawork....I was intrigued by the way George was photographed through large portions of the story through dirty and stained windows. I also loved Richard Gere's gut-wrenching and raw performance as George that kept this somewhat melodramatic story worth investing in. I can't remember Gere being more moving onscreen and he gets solid support from Vereen and Malone. If movies were all about intentions, this would be a winner shining a light on an important subject, but the bulb is flickering here.
The plight of the homeless in Manhattan is dramatized in 2014's Time Out of Mind, a well-intentioned if not totally accurate look at the human condition manifested through homelessness which is exaggerated for dramatic effect but the emotional power of which cannot be denied.
The film stars Richard Gere as George, a homeless man who after attempting to survive on the streets can no longer deny that the weather is getting too cold to remain on the streets and finds himself turning to a heartless system in the form of a men's detention center which eventually moves him to a homeless shelter where he actually makes a friend named Dixon(Ben Vereen) while trying to cling to the remnants of the relationship with his bitter daughter (Jena Malone).
Having worked for non-profit organizations that involved direct contact with the homeless community I must say that the director/co-screenwriter's presentation of the homeless is a lot different than what I've seen. Where I live, the homeless community is exactly that...they are a community of people who know each other and sometimes help each other and sometimes steal from each other, but they are a group of people who usually look out for each other when it comes down to it. Until he meets Dixon, which doesn't happen until halfway through the film, George is portrayed as being all alone on the streets. not knowing anyone and no one knowing him and though it made for effective drama, it wasn't terribly realistic.
When we first meet George, he is sleeping in the bathtub in an empty brownstone where he is heartlessly kicked out by a superintendent (Steve Buscemi). The super asks George how he got into the apartment and George never answers. I was curious to see what he would say because there is NO way a homeless person could break into an empty brownstone and sleep there. but then we see a battle with the buzzers where he leans on them until someone buzzes him, something else I don't see occurring IRL either.
One sequence that rang totally true and really summed up the sensibility of the homeless was when George is observed selling the coat off his back , buying beer with the money. and then going to a church to get another coat. This story seems to intimate a correlation between homelessness and mental illness but doesn't explore it fully.
What does work here is some really imaginative camerawork....I was intrigued by the way George was photographed through large portions of the story through dirty and stained windows. I also loved Richard Gere's gut-wrenching and raw performance as George that kept this somewhat melodramatic story worth investing in. I can't remember Gere being more moving onscreen and he gets solid support from Vereen and Malone. If movies were all about intentions, this would be a winner shining a light on an important subject, but the bulb is flickering here.