Richard Gere has always been an actor who goes the extra mile to inhabit the characters he plays, but for Oren Moverman's homelessness drama, Time Out of Mind, he went a bit further. Going incognito on the streets of New York City, Gere was so convincing as a homeless man that a family offered him some of their pizza. And it's that ultra-realism that is evident in the trailer for the film that earned rave reviews at TIFF last year.
Moverman, who directed The Messenger, Rampart, and wrote Love & Mercy, tells the story of a homeless man just trying to survive the Manhattan streets while coping with failing health, an alcohol habit, and an estranged daughter (Jena Malone). Here's the full synopsis:
George is a desperate man. With faltering health and nowhere to turn, he finds himself thrust onto New York City’s unforgiving streets. After exhausting all other avenues of temporary housing, he seeks refuge at Bellevue Hospital, Manhattan’s largest intake center for homeless men. It too proves a harsh and difficult-to-navigate environment, crowded as it is with similarly marginalized souls. But when George befriends a seasoned shelter-dweller named Dixon, he begins to harbor hope of repairing his relationship with his estranged daughter.
Moverman is a terrific, vastly underrated filmmaker but he has the tendency to get a little preachy. Whether that happens again with Time Out of Mind we'll have to wait until September 11th to find out.
