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Poster for Off the Black

Off the Black

2006 · 1h 30m · R Drama
Directed by James Ponsoldt

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Overview

An aging, disillusioned alcoholic gets a younger friend and wants him to pose as his son at a school reunion.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
65%
Tomatometer
Rotten

The leads are good, and Timothy Hutton is memorably off-putting as the pitcher's disengaged dad. But having created the aching umpire, Ponsoldt occupies him with some fairly shopworn situation.

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
Fresh

A modest drama fueled by Nick Nolte's gutsy lead performance as a disheveled 57-year-old junkyard proprietor who's been as flattened by life as the rusty old cars he crushes.

Bob Longino, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Rotten

Nolte almost makes it work.

Noel Murray, AV Club
Fresh

Off the Black is a small, dry, emotionally loaded short story that has been carried to film like baked fish to a platter.

Ty Burr, Boston Globe
Rotten

Writer-director James Ponsoldt's film treats big subjects -- loneliness, coming-of-age and father-son relationships -- with such half-baked conviction, it's a wonder the screen doesn't redden with embarrassment.

Desson Thomson, Washington Post

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