Off the Black

Off the Black (2006)

A heartfelt, small film with two big performances. Nick Nolte certainly plays a role here as a troubled, unhealthy, good-hearted man that many might think is the real Nick Nolte, judging from the media. He's an umpire for high school baseball games, and he loves the game, and the kids, but he's such a curmudgeon and a drunk no one realizes his devotion. This drives him to seclusion and sadness.

A couple of chance events combine to get him in sync with a young pitcher, played with real charm and ease by Trevor Morgan who has been very active as a low profile child actor (including a role in "The Sixth Sense"). So this odd pairing of a flailing older man and a lonely and yearning 17 year old is about how people need each other and come to help each other even when they don't quite know why.

The story, by director James Ponsoldt, is interesting enough to keep you engaged, if not wholly convinced. It does follow some clichéd paths of conflict and resolution, including a little sentimentality, but it works. What really holds it all together, though, is Nolte. At first you think he's overplaying, then maybe (oddly) underplaying (since you might think it's just Nolte being Nolte). But there is a lot of subtlety to his movements and his face, and real feeling. It's worth seeing for him, if you are the type to enjoy that kind of specific appreciation.

It's also enjoyable in other ways, including a series of rather searing if brief appearances by Timothy Hutton. Good stuff, if not especially original or brilliant in the larger sense.

Can someone tell me if I missed something, or was it never explained who the single mother was, her relationship to the Nolte character, who the father of her kid was, and what was the point of her being in the movie at all if none of the above is explained. Her scenes seem like pointless time or sex fillers. I was much impressed by the movie although the plot really left a whole lot unexplained: Nolte is at his 40th high school reunion, which would make everyone at the reunion about 58 and their graduation year one of the hottest in the Vietnam War, the protest movement, rock and roll and the sexual revolution. Yet not one person has anything to say or recall about these things, and the music seems generic, not at all in tune with the late "60s.

I recently rented Off the Black and was pleasantly surprised how good it was considering it had not gotten much recognition in media coverage or advertisements. I find it to be another quality independent film that unfortunately seemed to slip under the radar or fall through cracks. Not only is it a finely directed tale from first time director James Ponsoldt, but the acting performances by Nolte, Morgan, and Hutton are stellar. One might expect such performances by the veterans Nolte and Hutton, but the way Morgan held his own scene for scene with these icons shows his versatility and promise as a coming of age actor soon to be recognized by all as a talented force. I thought he looked familiar so after investigating I realized he was in Mean Creek and also had a fairly long list of credits, including starring opposite Vanessa Redgrave in Rumor of Angels (another great film and another fine performance for Morgan). I am looking forward to seeing Pondsoldt's next film and the what the future holds for Morgan!

I enjoyed this movie. Nick Nolte gives his all and Trevor Morgan, as his reluctant protégé, gives a nuanced performance. Above all, I found OFF THE BLACK believable. The premise is a bit unlikely, but the actors are up to the challenge and the director knows where to take the story. It's not an expose of rural life, but it's not an exercise in sentiment, either. There are no set-pieces, one-liners or explosive confrontations, but there are truths. This is not one of these movies which focus so much on the negative as to numb the viewer. (I can name about ten movies in the last five years which do that.) But it does insist that life isn't perfect. The world of movie distribution isn't perfect either, which is why this didn't appear at the multiplex. But the DVD is there. Grab it.

The third time is the charm for James Ponsoldt, writer, director and actor in a really touching indie film that everyone can relate to. Maybe that is why it died at the box office after a few weeks without really making it big. It's a story that we can all find a piece of ourselves in.

Ray's life is in the crapper. he runs a junkyard by day and comes home to a house where he lives with an ugly dog and they both drown their sorrows in beer. He umps the local games and know that is just asking for trouble.

After the local team loses their chance at the State playoff, he catches one teen who papers his house. This teen's mom has run off and his day is pretty much dead to the world. The two- Ray and Dave - hit it off and Ray becomes a surrogate dad, while Dave becomes a surrogate son.

It's funny, tender, and sad. It will make you think about your own life and count your friends - or make some if you don't have enough.