George (Richard Gere) is homeless in New York. He gets kicked out of Sheila's apartment by Art (Steve Buscemi) and his workers. He is sleeping on the streets, and hanging out at the hospital as he tries to navigate the system. He stays at a shelter. On the streets, he's accosted by Dixon (Ben Vereen) who befriends him. He is estranged from his daughter Maggie (Jena Malone).

It's a mostly reserved performance. Gere basically disappears into this role. In some scenes, he fades into the background. It's a really compelling idea of the modern untouchables. There isn't much of a dramatic story as he drifts from one scene to the next. There are some memorable moments like the crazy guy in the next bunk in the shelter. The movie is unnecessarily long. One could get the same points in something with thirty minutes less.

Director Oren Moverman never wants us to get close to the subjects in Time out of mind. He shoots the film from a distance so we feel like voyeurs eavesdropping in some half finished conversation.

We follow George Hammond (Richard Gere) a disorientated homeless man with no id, papers or money. We know little about him, how he got to this predicament. As the film goes on we realise he can be badly behaved, peeing on the street, he likes to drink and he wants to obtain his birth certificate. He also has a daughter that he wants to get close to but gauging from her reaction, she hates him.

Nothing much happens as George wanders around New York, looking for places to sleep, keep warm, getting something to drink and beg for money. George tries to get a place in a homeless shelter and has to go through tons of questions as various officials assess him. His memory seems hazy and he befriends another homeless man, the motor mouthed Dixon (Ben Vereen) who helps him to survive the streets and helps him get social security.

We get a committed performance from Richard Gere but the film is a borefest. There is no narrative and no story. A docudrama with no purpose apart from being a slice of life look at the plight of the homeless.

A tough movie to watch to say the least. It's not all shine and glory in this one. A lot of people would say this movie qualifies as "waste of time". And it is, if you cannot tune into the mindset and the general idea of the movie. What it tries to tell us and how it tries to achieve that goal. It could easily be a documentary. Actually some scenes could be have been shot "on the fly".

Gere goes all out for a role that really is tough to pull off. Homeless people are not something most of us are concerned, especially when it does affect us directly. And it is showing with how we handle them or how we approach them (there are a few things/scenes early on, that underline that sentiment). It's drama and if you are prepared for it, the movie will reward you. But if it's not your thing, you'll know early on and shouldn't continue to watch ...