Time Out Of Mind

I have met many homeless people in my life so far. Both in my job in health care, but also on the streets of bigger cities worldwide. The tragedy is that more younger people are becoming homeless in these days, because they don´t have any jobs, and many of them end up using drugs. Even if there are so many homeless people, who never have a chance to get a better life, there are some people who manage to find a way out. I do not belive that people choose to be homeless, if they could have their own home, with food on the table almost everyday. Some people can judge homeless people, because they look dirty, wear dirty clothes, and smell. But i see things differently. We don´t know what happened in their lives, so we should not judge them. We could be in the same situation one day, so try to be friendly at least. When it comes to motion pictures, there are plenty of films that takes on the subject of homeless people. One of the films that comes to mind is Ironweed, with Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep, playing a homeless couple in New York. I also remember the 90´s classic drama comedy Curly Sue, with Jim Belushi. One film that many people never talk about, is Mel Brook´s comedy Life Stinks. I personally found myself enjoying his view on homeless people, when you learn to appreciate what you used to have. Let´s change subject for a while. How many of you watched Richard Gere in Pretty Woman in the 90´s ? I would guess most of you, and he have always been a ladies man, especially since American Gigolo in the early 80´s. Now, i have never been a big fan of Richard Gere´s films. Except for three films, that actually surprised me. First one was The Mothman Prophecies, because i never thought he would be good in a horror film. Second film was The Flock, a thriller about an agent, who checks on sex offenders, to make sure they don´t repeat their crimes. And at last we have the very good film Arbitrage. This could be the best performance Richard Gere have ever made in a motion picture, so you should see it. I have not seen that many films since then with Gere, i suppose that i have not been updated with his work. But about a week ago i got a chance to see one of his latest films, called Time Out Of Mind. I have not seen any trailer, or read about the story, but i understand that it is about a homeless man. Knowing that Richard Gere can be a good actor, is this another proof that he choosed the right script, or is this a sentimental story that is more easy to forget ?

George ( Richard Gere ) is a homeless man. He walks the streets, trying to find new places to sleep, and if he can, get money to buy alcohol. He have a daughter named Maggie ( Jena Malone ), who works as a bartender. He tries to get in contact with her, but it is hard, he is ashamed of his situation. George manage to find a bed, at a homeless center. He is asked questions about his private life, something he is not happy about. But he understand that he have to open up about himself, because he needs that bed. Being sent to different shelters, and having a bed, he meet Dixon ( Ben Vereen ) outside the homeless shelter. Dixon go with George, just to keep himself company, and try to have a conversation. Dixon have children, who he never meets anymore. He still belive that George have a chance to see his daughter Maggie again, but does Maggie want anything to do with her father ? Did she give up on him a long time ago ?

I like the fact that in recent years, Richard Gere have left the comfort zone, and focus on different scripts, than his typical genre of romantic comedies. Once he goes back into that genre, i am not interested in seeing him do another cliché role, like we have seen him done so many times before. One of those films that really showed how good he can be, doing a much more serious film, was of course Arbitrage. I don´t think i have ever seen act as good as he did here, he really proved himself as an respected actor. Time Out Of Mind is a small film, it did not even screen almost anywhere. This could be a warning sign, that this might not be any good. Thankfully, this is an interesting film, about a homeless father, trying to find a way out of living poor, and establish a relationship with his daughter. We follow this homeless man on his journey, as he tries to find places to sleep, buy alcohol, and just survive for each day. There are not a lot of dialogue scenes, instead we get to see when the main character just try to move, to different locations in the big city. I would not say that this is one of the best films i have seen Richard Gere do in his career, but i would definetely say that Time Out Of Mind is more interesting than his chliché roles. He does pretty well, as he tries to portrait George, a man who have nothing, who lost his home, his family, and don´t even know if he can eat every day. Actor Ben Vereen also does a good performance as the homeless man Dixon, who tries to become a friend of George. Kyra Sedgwick should also be mentioned, as the homeless woman Karen, she also do a good performance. Director Oren Moverman have directed 2 films in the past, The Messenger and Rampart, where both films feature Woody Harrelson. I especially enjoyed his film The Messenger, since it had an interesting view on issues within the american army. His earlier films were bigger budget films, that were screened worldwide. Time Out Of Mind did not get much attention at all, from either press or online. It is such a shame, because since there are many awful films that get attention, this is the type of film that deserves to be seen by a larger audience. Anyone could become homeless, if you loose your job, or you become ill, you never know if you will end up becoming one someday. The realistic settings, and the atmosphere of the city streets, make this film feel like this could be anyhwere in this world. We see homeless people everyday, and we usually just pass them by. Time Out Of Mind makes you think, that maybe we should be happy for what you have. Just the fact that we can have food on our table, sleep in a bed, and have people who care for us. A film that shows one side of poverty, and manage to deliver the message. Richard Gere still prove himself, and he did the right choice to do this film, we need realistic stories on screen. Nice to see Steve Buscemi in a smaller role, i always enjoy his presence on screen. Christmas is here next week, i am thinking about giving some homeless people some clothes i don´t use anymore. Besides, i could be there someday, you never know what happens in the future.

Rating: DDD