Women's Pictures - Ava DuVernay's Middle of Nowhere
Thursday, February 12, 2015 at 1:30PM
Is it trite to start a film review with a Langston Hughes quote? Near the end of Middle of Nowhere, after Rosie (Lorraine Toussaint) yelled out "Every year is next year for you!" I kept thinking of the Hughes poem Harlem: “What happens to a dream deferred?” Hughes offered several possibilities, but his final warning rings truest for the characters in Middle of Nowhere:
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
Ava DuVernay’s second feature casts an empathetic eye on how the day-to-day particulars of supporting a spouse in prison - the hours of travel, legal battles, fees, bus rides and delayed desires - slowly, inexorably wear down even the most hopeful people. So what does happen for those deferred dream people who wait for next year?
Unlike I Will Follow, Middle of Nowhere is not based on personal experience. Regardless, the film feels intensely personal. It’s told from the point of view of Ruby (Emayatzy Corinealdi, in what would be a star-turn if there was any justice in the world). Ruby drops out of medical school and becomes as a night nurse to support her husband, Derek (Omari Hardwick, sullen in a prison jumpsuit or smiling in Ruby’s memories). He is serving an 8 year prison sentence for an initially unvoiced crime. Though Ruby supports Derek financially, legally, and emotionally, her own support system is thin - a doting but directionless sister (Edwina Findley), a mother (Lorraine Toussaint) whose good advice is undermined by poor delivery, and an amorous bus driver (David Oyelowo). The cast is extraordinary, and the film is shot by TFE favorite Bradford Young, but what DuVernay does with her raw materials turns the film from simple melodrama to subtle character study.
The paths of prison dramas are littered with snares and stereotypes - the violent prisoner, the passive scapegoat, the sainted wife, the cheater. DuVernay confronts these generic cliches by refusing to pass moral judgement, depriving both the audience and the characters any easy answers. Is Ruby selfish or selfless when she pushes for her husband’s parole? Is Derek a violent criminal or a victim of the system? (And perhaps most important for the love story: will David Oyelowo take off his shirt again?) DuVernay is less interested in answering these questions than she is in how people live without the answers they need.
DuVernay’s growth as a filmmaker between 2010 and 2012 can be seen most strongly in her leaps as a storyteller. The most powerful scene comes at Derek’s parole hearing, when Ruby looks like some of her questions might be answered. A hundred emotions shift across Emayatzy Corinealdi’s face as Ruby listens to her husband be accused of extra crimes and betrayals in prison. Derek remains totally unreadable. As Derek is led out of the courtroom in slow motion, back to the camera and his wife, uncertainty and desperation explode. It’s a palpable turning point driven by camera and action. This is one of many such scenes. Gone is the awkward camerawork of a new director; with Bradford Young, Ava DuVernay has found a cinematographer who can help the audience see her characters with the same dignified beauty she does.
DuVernay always understood people, but Middle of Nowhere gains the structure that I Will Follow lacked without sacrificing the complications of human emotion. DuVernay deservedly won Best Director at Sundance for Middle of Nowhere. She even managed to better the indie festival’s notorious White Guy Problem by using her laurels to launch her next film.
The running theme through Ava Duvernay's first two films is devotion - whom we devote ourselves to and why. In her third film, devotion will be a key element again, though the scale and stakes will increase for both the characters and the director. Only 10 days until the Oscars. Have you seen Selma?
Upcoming Films This Month:
Thursday, 2/19: Selma (2014) - Nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Picture and Best Song. (In theaters)
If you have suggestions for future Women’s Pictures directors, post them in the comments or find Anne Marie on Twitter!
Reader Comments (6)
What struck me the most in this film was the utter compassion DuVernay showed for every character. How easy would it have been to make one or more of these characters a villain or a martyr? But everything seems so well balanced, and that's so tricky.
Ugh. I still haven't seen this but definitely need to. I saw Selma, loved it and Oyelowo so I'd like to see more work by both of them. I remember Nat really championed this film when it came out, too.
This didn't get a release in Australia. I was in the US in 2013 and thought I'd just pick up a copy on DVD and it wasn't available! WTF?
I need to check again whether it's now available on iTunes in Australia. But really, so disappointing that a film like this gets strong reviews and various indie award nominations and is difficult to track down.
Saw this when it premiered at Sundance , when I have never heard of Ava DuVernay . If I remember well, I actually got in because it was the only film with tickets still available at the box office when at the time. It was a complete surprise how much I liked it and I was thrilled when she won the directing award. Hope to see much more of her in the future.
Nice to have you back Anne Marie.
I saw Selma and then I tracked down Middle of Nowhere, and was impressed yet again. With Selma Ava DuVernay & Bradford Young do justice to the suspenseful protest march scenes, the violence comes across in a visceral way.
But what really impressed me was how well those more intimate scenes were done. She is very adept with scenes of 2 people talking, taking time to let us see characters pause, think, and then say a line. It's her patience that I noticed.
This aspect of her direction pays off very well in Middle of Nowhere - Ruby is never a stereotype - she is a complex person. The courtroom scene is filled with her tension, her questions about Derek. She clearly has a gift with actors and she is one of those few directors that isn't afraid of silence and subtlety.
Anyone who liked Selma should definitely seek out Middle of Nowhere. No wonder Oprah is backing her for a drama series.
I finally saw this remarkable movie, and I was just floored at the depth of human emotion on display. This one really shook me up. ITA with the comments regarding the director's skill with actors. The quietest scenes brim with compassion and yearning. I can't wait to see what she does after Selma.