Middle of Nowhere 2012

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: "Middle of Nowhere" carries the imprimatur of Sundance, but without the dreary stereotypes or self-satisfied politics that can (at times unfairly) characterize its offerings. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: It's confident storytelling, in which often the actors' faces, rather than dialogue, tell us what we need to know. Read more

Sam Adams, AV Club: The power of Middle Of Nowhere is cumulative, conveyed in sustained tone and deepening character rather than bravura sequences or explosive confrontations. Read more

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader: The love triangle, which comes to overwhelm the second half, feels more like soap opera than anything else, and the able cast can't redeem DuVernay's often dreadful dialogue. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: [A] hushed, tenderly observant drama about a young woman trying to do right by herself and her marriage while her husband is in prison. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: This film is about a particular African-American experience, true, but it's also about the human experience. It will haunt you. It should. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: This is a tough-minded story of change that happens in almost imperceptibly tiny increments - as true growth so often does in reality. Read more

John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter: A deceptively slight film that strikes the right balance between realist family drama and earnestness... Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: It is uncommon to see serious adult dramas this moving and accomplished, so attuned to real people and their complex, recognizable emotions, no matter the racial makeup of the characters involved. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: This modest, micro-budgeted story has been beautifully packaged. Read more

Farran Smith Nehme, New York Post: Director Ava DuVernay, in showing Ruby's life in waiting, occasionally lets the pace slip into tedium. Read more

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: Like its central character, Middle of Nowhere is a gem. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Most of the action takes place within the mind of a lonely woman. That's why Corinealdi is so effective in the lead. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: This is an elegant, powerfully emotional and courageous film, worth seeing entirely on its own artistic terms ... Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: A sluggish enterprise, not measured or languorous or full of detail, but plodding, with scenes that run too long and others that are unnecessary. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: Made by a black American woman, about a black American woman, it's a study of a culture where the matriarchs are strong by necessity and trapped by circumstance - adrift in the middle of nowhere. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: A film remarkably true to life's haphazard rhythms. Read more

David Fear, Time Out: This is humanistic drama done right. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Middle of Nowhere explores the contours of loneliness and the boundaries of loyalty in a way that is both artful and emotionally revealing. Read more

Rob Nelson, Variety: Solidly acted but aloof and slow as molasses. Read more

Karina Longworth, Village Voice: Remarkably self-assured ... Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: Corinealdi and Oyelowo are appealing enough to make the journey to the inevitable conclusion an enjoyable one. Read more