\Off the Map,"" finally is getting to see the light of day. This little-known film, made in 2003, at last received distribution from Holedigger production company this year.
It demonstrates a story of the day-to-day brilliance of life in a plot consisting only of characters, their development and how simply and deeply they interact and observe one another.
Joan Allen gives a powerful and complex performance as Arlene, the mother of Bo (Valentina da Angelis) and the wife of Charley (Sam Elliot). The family lives in what appears to be Middle-of-Nowhere, New Mexico: a place rife with beauty and existence, where people do not need money to survive, just the land, good finds at the dump and each other.
However, Charley is depressed, and while the cause of this is never learned, various observations of his family lead to complex conclusions in the end-not about the cause of Charley's depression, but about the beauty of relationships and the power of desire.
Early in ""Off the Map,"" William Gibbs (Jim True-Frost), a washed-up chef and current IRS agent, stumbles upon the family to perform a tax audit. A bee sting leaves him in a delirious fever on their couch, and after he awakens and becomes enthralled with the mesmerizing beauty of both New Mexico and Arlene. He never leaves.
Valentina da Angelis' brilliant Bo gives the audience both something to laugh at and to watch with intense wonder. Bo is a young girl with rabid aspirations to become a part of contemporary, thriving America. She writes letters to food distribution companies complaining about rodent parts in their candy. She is life-savvy and full of wit. A subtle performance is given by J.K. Simmons as Charley's best friend George, a generous man who is quiet but perceptive.
The acting in this movie is rapturous, and creates portraits of the simplest element of human desire-everyone has their own needs and yearnings. Bo wants to get away from the ""wasteland."" George wants true companionship. William wants the feeling of purpose in his life. The narrative structure leaves Charley's wants unknown, while Arlene wants Charley to find happiness again.
Of course, it is nowhere near this simple, but these basic ideas provide character development so charged that it is a slap in the face when it happens. With this premise, it seems the movie should be boring, but it is nothing of the sort.
""Off the Map"" launches the audience into these characters' lives. Their eccentricities create an intricate weaving of subtlety and outbursts. Arlene likes to garden naked. William paints a picture three feet high by forty-one feet long. George goes to a psychiatrist and pretends to be depressed to get medicine for Charley. These events are sometimes disturbing, sometimes surprising.
Whatever happens in ""Off the Map,"" this movie must be deeply interpreted. It is filled with moments of silence, music, beauty and sadness. It is poetic, it accepts life for what it is.
