Middle of Nowhere

Ruby tries hard to adjust to a new reality after her husband lands in prison. She defers her plans and dreams awaiting her beloved's freedom, but in the meantime begins to lose her own identity, which she will struggle to regain. Using the perspective of an individual drama "Middle of Nowhere" deals with the extremely large number of imprisoned Afro-Americans and resulting avalanche of social problems, including dysfunctional families, single motherhood and economic marginalization after withdrawal of the welfare state. The biggest strength of this Sundance-award-winning film is not social engagement, but its subtle expression of emotions, exposition of the tenuous bonds and stressed relationships between the characters. „The New York Times” writes that Ava DuVernay is after something exquisitely simple in "Middle of Nowhere": she wants you to look, really look, at her characters. The director creates a matriarchal world where two generations, mothers and daughters, have to build and provide for family in the absence of men. She endeavors to show their raw daily lives, economic dependencies, sacrifice and rocky road to self-realization. The camera portrays Los Angeles using minimalist cinematography, breaking the stereotype of showing the city as a hyper-ghetto from the 1990s New Black Realism films.