Off the Black

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Off the Black

R,

2006,

1h 30m,

Comedy/

Drama

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Watchlist

Watchlist

65%

43 Reviews

Tomatometer

57%

1,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

65%

Tomatometer

43 Reviews

57%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

After his baseball team loses a game due to a call by umpire Ray Cook (Nick Nolte), Dave Tibbel (Trevor Morgan) and some friends decide to vandalize Ray's house. Dave is caught and starts paying off his debt by cleaning up the mess. Then Ray unexpectedly offers to forgive the debt if the teen will accompany him to his 40th high-school reunion and pose as his son. A paternal bond forms between Ray, who is dying, and Dave, whose own father (Timothy Hutton) is emotionally distant.

Critics Consensus

Nick Nolte shines in his role as an irascible high school umpire, imbuing this indie coming-of-age dramedy with heft and true-to-life warmth.

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J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

Mar 21, 2011

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.

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Bob Longino

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Feb 1, 2007

B+

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.

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Noel Murray

AV Club

Dec 30, 2006

C

Nolte almost makes it work.

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David Lamble

Bay Area Reporter

May 19, 2020

Ponsoldt's central metaphor is for a perplexing male relationship that's a lot harder to call than a ball that cuts just off the corner of the plate, and can decide a life well beyond the game.

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Nina MacLaughlin

Boston Phoenix

Mar 19, 2013

3.5/4

Nolte nails the particular tragedy of the past-his-prime ex-high-school athlete.

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Charles Cassady

Common Sense Media

Dec 15, 2010

2/5

Nolte is a flawed mentor in uncertain indie drama.

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Luke M

Jan 24, 2014

Off the Black is a simple drama about bonds and connections, image and sympathy. Its endearing and has all those classic tropes you need for a small indie drama film, but the movie is just good enough, from director/writer James Ponsoldt.

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James Ponsoldt

Director

Nick Nolte

Ray Cook

Trevor Morgan

Dave Tibbel

Sonia Feigelson

Ashley Tibbel

Rosemarie DeWitt

Debra Christopher

Sally Kirkland

Marianne Reynolds

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Synopsis

After his baseball team loses a game due to a call by umpire Ray Cook (Nick Nolte), Dave Tibbel (Trevor Morgan) and some friends decide to vandalize Ray's house. Dave is caught and starts paying off his debt by cleaning up the mess. Then Ray unexpectedly offers to forgive the debt if the teen will accompany him to his 40th high-school reunion and pose as his son. A paternal bond forms between Ray, who is dying, and Dave, whose own father (Timothy Hutton) is emotionally distant.

Director: James Ponsoldt
Producer: Scott Macaulay, Robin O'Hara
Screenwriter: James Ponsoldt
Distributor: ThinkFilm
Production Co: Forensic Films
Rating: R (A Crude Sexual Remark)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 8, 2006, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 6, 2020
Box Office (Gross USA): $24.0K
Runtime: 1h 30m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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