Middle of Nowhere
AFFRM | Release Date: October 12, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
75
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 21 Critic Reviews
Positive:
16
Mixed:
5
Negative:
0
Watch Now
Stream On
Stream On
Buy on

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
SalonAndrew O'HehirOct 11, 2012
This is an elegant, powerfully emotional and courageous film, worth seeing entirely on its own artistic terms, and also for what it conveys about the complexity of African-American life and the resurgence of African-American cultural expression. Read full review
91
The A.V. ClubSam AdamsOct 10, 2012
The power of Middle Of Nowhere is cumulative, conveyed in sustained tone and deepening character rather than bravura sequences or explosive confrontations. Read full review
90
The New York TimesManohla DargisOct 11, 2012
Ms. DuVernay, from start to finish in this very fine movie, works to make sure that Ruby is a woman to remember. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranOct 11, 2012
So though it echoes the films of Charles Burnett, the plays of August Wilson and "A Raisin in the Sun," at its heart Middle of Nowhere is old-school, character-driven narrative at its most quietly effective. Read full review
90
Village VoiceKarina LongworthOct 9, 2012
A slow-motion-enhanced kiss scene, with Corinealdi in top I-don't-give-a-f--- strut, is a startling example of DuVernay's ability to conjure drama that at once takes place in a character's head and in a recognizable real world. It's beautifully nuanced and confidently ambiguous - and so is the movie. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie RickeyOct 11, 2012
DuVernay, a low-key director sparing in her use of emotion and music, has made an existential drama that is European in its feel. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumOct 24, 2012
This is a tough-minded story of change that happens in almost imperceptibly tiny increments - as true growth so often does in reality. Read full review
80
Time OutDavid FearOct 9, 2012
This is humanistic drama done right. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenOct 24, 2012
This beautifully acted and gradually revealed drama is a quiet discovery. Not one to blare its own horn, Middle of Nowhere is the kind of little indie film that gives little indie films a good name. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenFeb 7, 2013
Sometimes, the quiet lyricism of DuVernay’s direction seems at odds with the grittiness of the subject matter, like poetry force-fed into prose. Read full review
75
USA TodayClaudia PuigOct 18, 2012
Nothing is easily resolved in this complex drama, which makes it all the more honestly moving. More than anything, this is a film about a woman on a journey of self-discovery, finding her way gingerly. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertOct 17, 2012
Middle of Nowhere isn't a highly charged drama, as you might have gathered. Most of the action takes place within the mind of a lonely woman. That's why Corinealdi is so effective in the lead. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineZeba BlayOct 10, 2012
In a cinema landscape where the representation of the black female experience is most visibly explored through the modes of outlandish comedy, unironic melodrama, or not at all, Ava DuVernay's take is a decidedly refreshing one. Read full review
70
The DissolveNoel MurrayJan 12, 2015
The greatest achievement of Middle Of Nowhere is that DuVernay and Corinealdi make Ruby’s big decision believable, by showing how it’s really just been a series of smaller choices. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeSep 29, 2012
A deceptively slight film that strikes the right balance between realist family drama and earnestness. Read full review
63
New York PostFarran Smith NehmeOct 11, 2012
Director Ava DuVernay, in showing Ruby's life in waiting, occasionally lets the pace slip into tedium. Read full review
60
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottNov 2, 2012
In fact, "restraint" is the word that best characterizes DuVernay's film. This isn't a movie filled with overt action or outbursts of melodrama. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanOct 11, 2012
At heart, Middle of Nowhere offers material we've seen many times before. But between her perceptive direction and Corinealdi's layered performance, this modest, micro-budgeted story has been beautifully packaged. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleOct 18, 2012
What makes Middle of Nowhere a break-even proposition, rather than something to avoid, is that it deals with an aspect of life and with characters rarely seen in movies. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanOct 11, 2012
They're enough to elevate the film above its somewhat by-the-numbers plot and add a little juice to its slightly sluggish forward momentum. Read full review
50
VarietyRob NelsonSep 29, 2012
Solidly acted but aloof and slow as molasses. Read full review
More From This Movie

75 Critic Reviews

6.9 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 71 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL