Time Out of Mind

Many of us tend to look the other way during our encounters with transients or panhandlers, but Time Out of Mind forces us to stare, and might send some folks out of their comfort zone in the process.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as this drama of redemption and reconciliation from director Oren Moverman (The Messenger) features a quietly perceptive performance by Richard Gere as a broken man wandering the streets in search of hope amid considerable despair.

He plays George, who begs for spare change during the day and squats in an abandoned apartment building at night. He’s a homeless man who’s confused and rambling (he keeps mentioning some woman named “Sheila” who he intends to meet), but his circumstances or the possible extent of his mental illness are initially unclear.

Moverman’s script gradually reveals some details, of course, about a downward spiral triggered by a combination of personal problems. When he’s kicked out of the building, George hits the streets — generally managing to steer clear of the trouble around him — but runs into one dead end after another as he talks to social workers and tries to navigate the Manhattan shelter system. At the same time, he makes a clumsy attempt to reunite with his estranged daughter (Jena Malone), who’s working as a bartender and has no interest in repairing the relationship.

Time Out of Mind brings a welcome change-of-pace for Gere, whose adoration for the character and the message is evident (he’s in almost every scene). The strong supporting cast includes Ben Vereen, Kyra Sedgwick and Steve Buscemi as folks who cross George’s path.

The film is deliberately paced but rewards patience, trying to capture the plight of the homeless with a gritty verite style that’s both sincere and effective. Moverman shines a light on the everyday desperation of life on the streets, but not in a way that strains for easy sympathy. However, it also lacks the narrative momentum that could yield a deeper emotional resonance.

Still, the screenplay hints at the life George once enjoyed and how it all fell apart, while mostly sidestepping heavy-handed clichés and cheap sentimentality. Instead, it’s a compassionate examination of life in the margins that doesn’t offer easy solutions.

Not rated, 121 minutes.