Clarissa Mora The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Payno I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Scotty Burke It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

Lamystique3 The script is only good as the actors and the actors were above average. They showed passion and emotion through their characterization and was able to present real-life empathy in their situations. I am surprised this movie didn't make it into the box office and if it did, it was purely underrated. The story line also exhibited a common scenario that many families deal with regarding incarceration of loved ones. I can watch this movie multiple times and still feel the realness of the actors' life story. Also, many ladies deal with their husbands and boyfriends behind bars and it's a constant battle with one's self too either rock it out with them or just move on.

lafrondaindiecinemacritic Middle of Nowhere ***1/2 (2012) 1hr. 41 min.Ava Duvernay is one of a new exciting filmmakers in independent cinema, whose stories about relationships about black Americans and issues surrounding their spouses, parents, siblings, etc. and how complicated and loyal black women can be when it comes to black men. Some black women go through enormous sacrifices of personal happiness within themselves and in this film, shows how loyalty can lead to question one's purpose on earth, in which, that very dedication is tested, when she meets a man one day and she questions that very attachment to her significant other.The story is about a young black woman, a registered nurse named Ruby (Emayatzy Corinealdi) who lives with her sister a waitress named Rosie (Edwina Findley Dickerson) and her young son. Ruby is paying for an attorney to represent a case involving Ruby's husband Derek (Omari Hardwick) who has been in jail for 4 years on a weapons charge. She loves him and is focused on having the life they planned before he was incarcerated when he is released from jail. When the parole hearing occurs, with Ruby being the attentive dutiful wife-- hears a bombshell in the courtroom. Ruby questions her commitment to the marriage, which leads to a budding romance with a Bus driver Brian (David Oyelowo). Brian knows that she is married but senses tension within the marriage by Ruby's nonverbal behavior and seeing a ring that appears on her left finger to be a wedding ring. Ruby then has to decide to either continue with her marriage to Derek or begin another romance with a new suitor. Ruby also has to deal with the relationship with her mother and her disappointment of her daughter's lifestyles choices.The film is beautifully written by Ava Duvernay the dialogue is very poetic and introspective of the inner dialogue she gives Ruby, who is a woman who loves her husband, but has to deal with one obstacle after another because of her husband irresponsible behavior. Ruby represents a lot of black women who are dedicated spouses who put with a lot of nonsense of their boyfriends or husbands, because of the racist society that we live in. Many black women feel the black man in America today, get such a raw deal, by the systematic racism that exists in America. Despite years of laws that should have made discrimination less and less problematic, which has unfortunately, had limited effectiveness to curb racism in large numbers. All the performances are quite good and Troussaint has great moment when she's at the dinner table, at her daughters house, she is disappointed with one daughter's choice of profession and an ex- boyfriend who is an absentee father and Rosie, not wanting Mother Ruth to spend time with her grandson and the other daughter Ruby, who is too loyal to a man who is not worthy of her daughter. "Middle of Nowhere" is a fine second feature and gives Duvernay the opportunity to make more intellectual and thoughtful movies, about people in complicated relationships and situations. I predict Duvernay will make more thought provoking films in the future years to come.

calvinnme The couple involved seem like a typical middle class couple. She is a registered nurse with plans to go to medical school. Her husband - I don't think the film ever mentions his legitimate profession. But he is at the beginning of an eight year sentence in a federal penitentiary for gun running.When we first meet the young couple they are talking in the visiting room at the prison. You can touch and embrace when you first meet, but NO KISSING! She is trying to encourage him. She will put her plans on hold so she can talk to him every night and see him every weekend. She tells him to keep one phrase in his head "five years good time", the shortest sentence he can do if he just stays out of trouble. Since the gun running was his only run in with the law, she figures this is a piece of cake. But it isn't.So much of the film is just the camera pointed at the wife - her face is so expressive you almost don't need words. You see the daily ennui of her life. You see her dealing with her dysfunctional relatives, doing a job she is good at - registered nurse - but wanting more, going through papers she has neatly filed away readying for his release. And then some good news. After just four years there will be a parole hearing. At first their original lawyer says she is not available. The truth is she wants half of the money upfront. This is just like a lawyer. They want to sweep unpleasant confrontations based on capitalism under the rug, but Ruby (the wife) gets the truth out of the lawyer, and gets her to agree to appear at the parole hearing. Ruby manages to scrape together the money the attorney wants.The parole hearing is a disaster. Apparently Ruby's husband Derek has been involved in one assault and is named as the instigator in a second. Then comes what Ruby was not prepared to hear. Derek has been sexually involved with a now fired female guard. We never see or even hear Derek's side of things. His lawyer just keeps mentioning "no charges were ever filed" as Derek's defense. It's artful how the film lets the audience fill in what happened. Here is a middle class guy, with probable minimal street smarts, among men who probably did not get here by dropping out of Sunday school. So his parole hearing is basically civilized people in civilized society measuring Derek's behavior in prison by civilized standards when prison is the law of the jungle.This is where the actress playing Ruby should have won an Academy Award. With just the expression on her face, at the parole hearing, she goes from the optimism of somebody about to greet someone returning from a long journey, to the dazed face of someone who realizes she has endured four years of deferred dreams and celibacy for somebody she might not even know anymore. Her face falls like a cake in an oven. Hey, if Luise Rainer could get Best Actress in 1936 for what amounts to one phone call in "The Great Ziegfeld", what about this?? The next time Ruby and Derek meet - and it is a few weeks - Ruby is a changed woman. She has a harder look on her face, and even a harder looking hairdo. Before she has been all smiles - almost angelic in appearance. Not anymore. What transpired since the parole hearing? What does she tell Derek? I'll let you watch and find out. Highly recommended.

Turfseer Beautifully photographed and wonderfully atmospheric, 'Middle of Nowhere' is former publicist turned writer/director Ava Duvernay's second feature film, which won the best directing award at Sundance. It's about Ruby, a young African-American woman, who gave up going to medical school to wait for her husband Derek, who's doing an eight year bid in the penitentiary after pleading guilty to gun charges.When we first meet Ruby, she's visiting Derek at the inmate visiting center and appears smitten with him. Cut to four years later and she's still devoted as ever, taking the bus up to visit her bad boy love quite often. But the four years of incarceration have taken its toll on Derek and he hardly seems like the same person when he first went in. The warning signs are there, including a big scar across his neck, which Ruby conveniently ignores but is an obvious sign that he has not adjusted well with his fellow inmates.When Derek comes up for his first parole hearing, Ruby is convinced that his best chance is to have legal representation when he goes before the Board. The same lawyer that they used originally for Derek's defense, is now available for the parole hearing but she's no longer willing to accept Ruby's payment of fees on installment. Ruby is forced to borrow an additional $750 from her mother, who is unhappy about her aloofness and lack of communication. Also in the mix is Ruby's sister, who doesn't care to involve their mother, in the parenting of her young son.The plot thickens when Ruby meets a kindly bus driver, Brian. Most of their initial encounters are more tactile than verbal, and not so convincingly, it takes quite awhile before Ruby reveals information about her marriage and that she's separated from a man who is currently incarcerated. At this point, I'm thinking that Derek will be paroled, he'll come home and they'll be some kind of conflict between him and Brian. But Ms. DuVernay opts to go in another direction. At Derek's parole hearing, it's revealed that he's been recently disciplined for a violent confrontation with other inmates in prison and that he may be associated with various gang members. Worse for Ruby, is the revelation that a female correction officer was fired for having a sexual encounter with Derek. This is the straw that breaks the camel's back. Ruby's obsession with Derek gradually dissipates and she's drawn to Brian. And finally, after much soul searching, she decides to end her relationship with Derek, not before one last visit, when she expresses her affection for him, but makes it clear that he and she are no longer a couple (it becomes obvious that the 'bad boy', will not be leaving prison very soon at all!).The 'Middle of Nowhere' features strong performances from its principals including the talented newcomer Emayatzy Corinealdi as Ruby. The film has tons of wonderful atmosphere and an inviting, folk rock score. Nonetheless, the plot is rather simple and is quite sluggish, focusing on Ruby's gradual moves toward self-actualization. Sacrificed are any real attempts to develop the characters, beyond the distillation of Ruby's crisis of conscience. Brian, in particular, alludes to some early problems with an ex-wife, but we find out hardly anything about him; he's more a plot device to ensure that Ruby doesn't end up stuck in the past, with a husband who's going nowhere.'Middle of Nowhere' might have worked better if it was a little shorter in length. Despite the intensity of Ruby's relationship with the two men, I found myself growing rather tired of Ruby's self-destructive attraction to Derek. After awhile, it doesn't seem to matter why she's so attracted to him--I was just relieved at film's end, that she finally came to her senses, and gave him up. In this respect, 'Nowhere' is a cautionary tale for women who are attracted to 'bad boys'.Some of the more interesting moments in "Middle of Nowhere" occur when we get a peak at how the criminal justice system works (the parole hearing is one such example). These moments add to the film's overall heady verisimilitude.Overall, "Middle of Nowhere' is worth a look. Don't expect any tremendous plot revelations and be prepared for scenes here and there, that drag. Nonetheless, the dialogue and intensity of the performances are a sight to be seen. Overall, the film will impress you, despite the limitations of a weak story line.