When Campbell Scott saw Joan Ackermann’s play Off the Map at a Great Barrington theater some years ago, he thought, “this is perfect, it just needs New Mexico.” Watching his film adaptation, which tells the story of a maverick family living in the desert in the 1970’s, I had similar sentiments. Boasting subtly stunning performances by Joan Allen, Sam Elliot, and Jim True-Frost, the movie is close to perfect. It just needs the big screen.

THE MOVIE
As Off the Map begins, the grown up Bo (Amy Brenneman) recalls a pivotal summer in which IRS officer William Gibbs (Jim True-Frost) journeys to the middle-of-nowhere Groden home to collect seven years of unpaid taxes. But when Gibbs is smitten with Arlene (he sees her gardening naked), he’s not so intent on auditing the family – nor is he particularly interested returning to the tax agency that so fascinates young Bo, who is intently waiting for a Mastercharge card so she can purchase a house with modern conveniences like a TV and a phone (living on an annual income of $5000, the Grodens have neither).

After a brief bout of illness, Gibbs moves in with the Grodens and is able to lift the spirits of the severely depressed Charley, even after Arlene’s plan to pilfer pills from a psychiatrist backfires. And when William picks up a paintbrush and set of watercolors brought by Charley’s friend George (J.K. Simmons), his decision to leave city conveniences for the rough and tough grandeur of the desert is unquestionable. The expansive canvases William paints, created for the film by artist Stan Berning, are nearly as breathtaking as the New Mexico scenery.

Since Off the Map is an ensemble drama more interested in character development than special effects, many viewers – this one included – were inclined to dismiss it as a rental. Mistake. The New Mexico landscape is as much a character as Arlene Groden (Allen’s part-Indian Earth mother), her depressed husband Charley (Sam Elliot) or their precocious twelve-year-old daughter Bo, who is played by a lovely newcomer named Valentina de Angelis. Scott, production designer Chris Shriver, and director of photography Juan Ruiz Anchia clearly have a reverence for the cacti and cayote-populated locale, but a TV-size screen instead calls attention to Ackermann’s lyrically stage-bound dialogue and the story’s rambling pace, which didn’t bother me but may be grating to some viewers.

Directed by Scott, himself a talented performer, Off the Map is most notable for remarkable acting all around. Elliot creates a laudable portrait of a man wrestling with his first bout of depression; True-Frost turns in a revelatory portrayal of drifter who has finally found his way; Simmons is nobly simple; de Angelis makes Bo heartbreakingly spunky and persistent; and if anyone needed further proof that Allen is one of our finest actresses, it’s here. These performances are so understatedly excellent they’ll almost certainly be overlooked when next year’s Oscars roll around.

SOUND AND VISUALS
The film is presented in (1.85.1) Widescreen, and the color and quality is crystal clear. The Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround audio is top-notch too, making it easy to enjoy Gary Demichele’s atmospheric score.

I’ve probably pressed this point to death, but Anchia does a marvelous job of capturing the unique landscape… just watch this on the biggest screen that you can find.

PACKAGING AND LAYOUT
The DVD comes in one handsomely packaged case, with images that don’t come close to capturing the grace and power of the film itself.

SPECIAL FEATURES
During the commentary, Scott mentions several scenes with older Bo that have been cut; it’s a shame they’re not included here. The features, otherwise, are passable. They are as follows:

Sundance Channel’s “Out There Now”: A five-minute documentary featuring interviews with Scott, Allen, and Elliot, along with clips from the film. This is more of a promotion than anything else, and all the meaty quotes are also included in the Sundance Channel’s sister feature, “Anatomy of a Scene.”
Sundance Channel’s “Anatomy of a Scene”: This half-hour episode picks apart, in detail, the key sequence in which William Gibbs falls in love with a New Mexico sunset, and realizes an affair with Arlene is a dead end pursuit. Allen, True-Frost, Ackerman and Scott are among the interviewees guiding us through the lengthy moviemaking process, from adaptation to location scouting, casting and filming. At the end of the episode, the finished scene is played.
Feature Commentary with Scott and Playwright Ackermann: “You make three movies: the one you write, the one you shoot, and the one you edit,” says Scott, and in this most worthwhile feature he and Ackermann cover all three. They discuss everything from the process of adaptation, to directing actors, to location scouting, to watching the movie come together. It’s very informative and a great listen for anyone interested in the artistic process. [NOTE: Scott also provides great insights on the commentary track for The Secret Lives of Dentists, another underrated gem.]

The DVD also features a slew of previews for indies including House of Flying Daggers, Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius, and Look at Me.

THE BOTTOM LINE
Get past the slightly slow pace, and you’ll enjoy this rich, unsentimental depiction of a family thriving on everything money can’t buy.

Movie: A-
Packaging and Layout: A-
Sound and Visuals: A
Special Features: B-
Overall DVD Score: A-