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It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Some big films leave one dissatisfied and some little films leave one feeling very satisfied. 'Off the Map,' while living up to its title by easing onto DVD with no fanfare at all (Was it ever in mainstream theaters?), is certainly one of the latter.I doubt that it will connect with many 16-25-year-old males … at least not the ones who need sex, several explosions and characters morphing into super humans to be entertained. It is one of those quiet films where very little actually 'happens.' Of course, many of the better films in history, from Carl Theodor Dreyer's awesome Le Passion de Jeanne d'Arc to All About Eve and 12 Angry Men to The Big Chill and the Royal Tenenbaums, are essentially about people sitting around, talking, when one gets right down to it. Each tells a significant tale and tells it extraordinarily well. So does this little gem.Any film with Sam Elliott in it has a certain element of class. (He even lent a smidge of dignity to Ghost Rider.) He is magnificent here as the depressed Charley Braden. He is a man who has built his life and family on a survivalist creed that a man wastes time working for an employer. Instead, he should be learning skills he can put to use. He can fix anything, his family brags, and presumably this skill is bartered, along with firewood, plant care and other services. The family survives on virtually no money and home schools the narrator daughter, 11 or 12-year old Bo (Valentina de Angelis).The film depicts a summer (apparently during the 1970s or 1980s) when Charley somehow plummets into depression. His lovely and sturdy wife Arlene (Joan Allen) is pushed almost to the breaking point dealing with his condition. Meanwhile, Bo dreams of a "normal" life with all the trappings of the adult commercial world, briefcases, appointment books and credit cards, not to mention public school.Their world is transformed that summer when depressed IRS man William Gibbs (Jim True-Frost) shows up for an audit. He winds up staying almost indefinitely, taken in by the awe inspiring landscape and by the simple family – especially Arlene.The cast is outstanding. Elliott and Allen are perfect as the minimalist couple, who apparently have been happy and productive for years in their chosen lifestyle. As others have said, Allen's solid foundation holds the film together, just as her character does the fictional family. True-Frost does marvelous work as the displaced agent, who finds himself as a painter and becomes a family member. DeAngelis is perky and enjoyable as the precocious Bo. I can certainly see such a bright young kid who lacks some of the social graces of regular social intercourse with others saying and doing the slightly bizarre things that Bo comes up with. J.K. Simmons is also very good as Charley's loyal buddy, George.For a "talking" film to work it takes good cinematography and believable characters one cares about. This film has these in spades. The landscape shots are spectacular. (It's too bad almost nobody got to see it on the big screen.) The characters, meanwhile, are quirky and likable, and the acting is first-rate. Director Scott Campbell succeeds in telling a rewarding story of love, individuality and determination.I came away with a very satisfied feeling after watching Off the Map. It's certainly the best new film I've seen in 2009. For anyone who can appreciate a skillful and deep, yet simple film, this is a real winner.

I am an action buff but this movie had me mesmerized from the first scene. The Groden family lives in solitude in a remote and mystical part of New Mexico. Charley Groden (Sam Elliot) is depressed, his daughter Bo (Valentina de Angelis) is witty, and his wife Arlene (Joan Allen) is spiritually in touch with her surroundings. Sam Elliot's portrayal of a veteran with depression was very convincing. To add to that, it was so refreshing to see the young Bo exhibit such wit in her attempt to have some kind of contact with the outside world. The Groden's are visited one day by the IRS auditor, William Gibb, played by Jim True-Frost. As he walks onto their little farm, William views a naked Arlene in her garden. That event changed the course of William's life, and started a cascade of events that altered the lives of the Groden's forever. New Mexico and the Groden's took William from the life he knew and swallowed him into a life of simple existence in a seemingly magical place. Just as William lost himself in Groden's corner of New Mexico, so was I lost in this movie. A must see!

Sometimes a really good movie comes along, with characters that remind you of people you know (including yourself) and the ability to weave a plot around everyday life. This is one of those. The character development is its centre-piece and strength. Though it doesn't say it's a "True Story", it depicts truth and you know you've been there before with some of the scenes. A film for all ages - don't let the "nudity" warning put you off - This film depicts very real people is a very real country setting that is fast becoming something we only remember from our childhood. As the ocean of the past recedes, and the sky of future comes, learn again to enjoy the horizon of the present!

Quickly, any film possessed of Joan Allen has a healthy shove in the right direction. Here, the screenplay by Joan Ackermann of her own play, the direction by Campbell Scott, and the unerring freshness and originality of the tale, offer enticing entertainment. A supporting cast embellishes Allen's lead beautifully, most notably Jim True-Frost, too infrequently seen on film, and Sam Elliott, who used to be around far more often. True-Frost is a member of the terrific cast of the HBO series "The Wire," applauded by critics, except, notably, those idiots who hand out establishment-infested awards. Too bad, that; but typical. And this film has drawn only that same kind of attention. A good thing, come to think of it, that.