Hide Away (2011) User Reviews

NIce Setting but Don't Bother

[dansview · 5/10 · 27 March 2013]

OK, good job of showing emotional anguish Josh. Nice location and photography. But....

In Castaway with Tom Hanks, I didn't mind the lack of dialog, because someone's attempt to adapt to a lost island was at least mildly compelling. But I don't want to watch a guy drinking and repairing a boat for too long, without more character development.

In Castaway, we knew who this guy was before he stopped talking.

When there was a little talking in Hide Away, it was pretentious, accented, and oh so boring.

Who the hell was that waitress woman? I guess she had a sailing past on the same boat that Josh was repairing, but why was she stuck in a remote cafe, and reciting old poetry? Isn't she a bit young to be that world-weary? Why use an Israeli actress for a character in Traverse City, Michigan? A young blonde cashier seeks refuge at the boat after being abused by a husband or boyfriend. She had already seen that Josh was a drunk and a recluse. She confessed to having followed him home once. Did she think he would relate to her pain, or was she attracted to this train wreck? If there was a deeper meaning, I missed it.

I don't want to have to guess everything.

I like the basic concept of repairing a boat, having a project, as a metaphor for repairing one's broken life.

Sorry, nice try, but I needed more character development, and a tad more happening to keep me engaged.

A Different, but Interesting Film...

[OldDrummer55 · 7/10 · 12 September 2020]

Not your typical "healing" movie as it leaves a lot to one's interpretation... it's deeper than you suspect at first. The beginning is slow, but once the human interaction begins it flows well. Josh Lucas is an underrated actor and I always admire James Cromwell's work. One strongpoint of this film is the outstanding cinematography... beautiful work! Also, I found the soundtrack music to be soothing. A man's long road to healing... I liked it.

Good Story

[suuntow · 7/10 · 26 April 2013]

It's a quiet movie. The motor on a sailboat is called an iron genny not an iron spinnaker as Lucas refers to it in the movie. Genny comes from the word genoa which is a sail, like a jib, only it's leach extends aft of the mast. Also, no sailor spins the dock lines in a spiral like Lucas does. That's a stupid habit of power boaters. Anyway, I watched because I like sailing. Not much to glean about sailing though from this movie. The point of the moving has nothing to do with sailing. I liked it though because Lucas was trying to find the answers at the bottom of the bottle. I can appreciate that. If I were to sink into a depression and come to grips with loss I'd make sure it was in a warm place. The Great Lakes are not a recommendation for a long sulking and healing.

Slow-moving, understated study of a man working through his personal angst.

[TxMike · 19 March 2013]

We were attracted to this movie because it has Josh Lucas, an actor we enjoy and can be depended upon to create an interesting character. And he does that here, his performance makes the movie worth watching.

However not every movie fan will enjoy it. The story is revealed only very gradually, we see him and his wife and two children in a sort of hazy shot, and we figure out that they have disappeared but we don't know why or how. Viewers who stick with it can enjoy a nice drama about a lost man attempting to find his way.

Josh Lucas is only known as Young Mariner. He is a valuable businessman who shows up at the small Lake Michigan harbor having just bought a sailboat. "As is." And he soon finds out that it is in very rough condition, very dirty, water in the bottom, no bilge pump, the engine won't start, the sails are in bad need of repair. He seems determined to work through it, the seasons pass, he gets to know some of the locals.

Ayelet Zurer has a key role as The Waitress , and also veteran James Cromwell with a key role as The Ancient Mariner , who also has a sail-making shop. At one point the two men are in a small boat, the older man tells the history of that part of the lake, naming a section the "grand traverse", and a comment that life is like that. It is all a "grand traverse" and that seems to be the overall theme of the story.

SPOILERS: The man had been having an extramarital affair and we see his wife and children getting into a car and driving away, then shortly being hit by a speeding truck. They all died, the man was distraught, he blamed himself, he nearly killed himself at least a couple of times. But in the end after about a year living there and working on the boat, getting it "ship-shape", he sold the boat to return to his life again, presumably wiser.

A very watchable movie

[julielangsmith · 7/10 · 26 February 2022]

Really enjoyed this movie. It was well acted, a good story, and very interesting watching Josh Lucas slowly resurrect the old dilapidated boat that he bought. Don't really understand the poor rating, but then I say that all the time.

i thought i was watching a documentary about the making of molasses

[rboy8 · 1/10 · 12 September 2012]

well...lets see. i admit to being an avid movie-holic. (i am currently on a 12 frame program). i honestly don't know what movie the other people found in their DVD container. the only way i could rate this movie on the high end of the scale is to drop massive amounts of ecstasy and view the entire film through rainbow colored glasses. what an insult to waste the talents of such experienced good solid actors with this drivel. i am the first to admit that the cinematography was solid but most of it was a little too derivative. i would like to think i understand the concept of still photographic images on film, but after awhile it became rote and lost its initial impact. i pretty much had the film figured out in the first 10 minutes. (i did not know the car accident where the lead character loses his entire family was due to an illicit affair he was having.) just about everything that transpired was telegraphed way ahead like when you fighting someone that pulls their arm way back before they strike. don't get me wrong. i like thoughtful, insightful, quiet character driven movies. just don't mistake this leaden, draining, bloated jackwagon of a film as one of those kind. if i had a choice between watching this movie or paint drying, i would definitely go for the wall. if you are still not deterred from wasting any of your precious time and still wish to view this throughly turgid affair after reading this piece, don't forget to go to the hardware store first and pick up a few gallons....just in case.

Very slow, almost documentary-like focusing on the grieving process of lost ones

[parvatik · 3/10 · 16 October 2013]

The plot revolves around a man trying to erase his memories of loss/grief and he spends an year in a isolated (but very beautiful) place and takes up a project to bring back a dilapidated sail boat to glory to forget his sorrow. Very good capture of emotions, you have the very best actors giving an awesome portrayal. Almost all characters are undergoing/exude some form of grief/sorrow. However I didn't quite connect to it, the director should have explored the characters of the Superstore girl and also the waitress further.I felt it was abruptly ended. The audience is kept wondering what happened and why?

Very good camera work especially focusing on the changing seasons. Its done very well

I would give high marks for the acting and portrayal of grief and the awesome photography, but the movie didn't connect with me and felt awfully slow & documentary like focusing on the grieving process.

Not a movie to watch if you want to watch something cheerful and want the movie to pep you up

Time (and Boat Repair) Heals All Wounds

[soncoman · 8/10 · 30 May 2012]

A young man arrives dockside near an unnamed lake, dressed in a dark suit, and rolling a suitcase behind him. Who is he? We don't know. Why is he there? He's there to buy a boat ('AS-IS' as the seller reminds him.) What is he going to do with it? He's going to repair and restore it. Why?

A-ha. There's the central question of the new film "Hide Away," now beginning to get a limited release around the country. Josh Lucas plays the unnamed man and, besides the rolling suitcase, he is lugging some serious baggage around with him. We are never fully told of the tragic events that led to his arrival - and that's just as well - because it's not about what happened or why. This film is about the process of getting past life's most difficult moments and moving on.

The Young Mariner (as he's listed in the credits,) takes on the task of repairing the "Hesperus," a broken-down hulk desperately in need of work to return it to its former glory. Yes, the symbolism is a bit obvious. Yes, one must suspend one's disbelief that an individual (who seems to have a high-tech background) would know everything necessary to complete a major overhaul of a sailing vessel (the film does take a shot, somewhat unconvincingly, to explain this away,) but go along with it. There are rewards to be had from this film.

Isolating himself from his past, the Mariner eventually finds some comfort in his interactions with those around him. Ayelet Zurer, Jon Tenney, and the magnificent James Cromwell all do yeoman's work as denizens of the marina where the boat is docked. Cromwell, as The Ancient Mariner, appreciates the Young Mariner's situation and speaks to him of his own regret at spending a "year of mooring" (the film's original title - a better fit, thinks I)

Please don't let the subject matter of this film turn you away. It is not a depressing film. It is a quiet, beautifully filmed manifestation of Kubler-Ross's Five Stages of Grief. Often the dialogue is sparse, and one is left to decipher the Mariner's thoughts. Lucas gives a beautifully nuanced performance in which little is said, but volumes are spoken.

This film is also enhanced considerably by its wonderful cinematography. Who knew that Michigan could look so good? Filmed in and around Traverse City, there are shots in this film that are stunning in their beauty. The Michigan Tourism Board should acquire the print rights to a couple of shots. Hell, it got me thinking about a visit.

Too often small films like this one are lost in the shuffle of big-budget, Hollywood blockbuster summer releases. If you've tired of explosions, aliens, and superheroes, and are looking for something with real substance, seek this one out.

www.worstshowontheweb.com

Try this movie if you can't sleep!

[snowflowerz · 1/10 · 5 June 2020]

Ohhhh, soooo boring! I got so sleepy watching this very "sleepy" movie! John Lucas--you can do so much better than this.

Excellent, moving, haunting...

[smithr1223 · 9/10 · 31 May 2012]

A man arrives at a dock, in suit & tie and carrying his suitcase, buys a boat as-is, he seems haunted but we don't yet know why. If you've ever experienced deep grief or a need to hideaway and heal, this film will have a deeper meaning for you, if you've not yet experienced those tortured emotions in life you may not yet understand fully the emotional depths this film represents. I've been there, I am there, and felt the film all the more meaningful for my own experiences. The waterside setting is magical and the story plays against the backdrop of its setting (Traverse City, Michigan) and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, The Children's Hour, which given Longfellow's own sad history gives the film even deeper resonance. The typical Hollywood films you'll barely remember a month later but Hide Away will have a lasting impact and this, this, is the film you want to see this Summer. Best work I've seen from Josh Lucas and James Cromwell is, even more than usual, so very memorable as The Ancient Mariner. I'd originally rated this film an 8 but, after viewing it a second time, I changed my review to a 10. Now I'm left wondering what my own boat is...

Good!

[martharwebster · 5/10 · 19 June 2021]

It has you intrigued from the very beginning! I liked that it was metaphorical about healing and the process of letting the past go and learning to move on with the life you still have. And the music was so beautiful! And as always, Josh Lucas did so well!

Slow, Slower...

[cudax · 3/10 · 17 April 2022]

Sad, unexplained until near the end. I like Josh Lucas, but this is not his finest by far! I had a very hard time getting through this snooze fest! I kept watching out of sheer fascination to see if it would get better...alas it was in vain.

Truth-based and "Haunting"

[sarah-4321 · 8/10 · 16 June 2020]

Several years ago I heard a (ministerial-type) person say to another person that "this is the time he needs to be around us, his friends," referring to a guy who was staying apart after a personal difficulty--a tragedy. ... A the time my immediate thought was that We Do Not Know the Heart of Another and certainly cannot presume or project onto him what it is he "needs." ... This film is a profound truth-based and haunting unfoldment of the empirical reality that humans sometimes truly need to "hide away," so to speak, in order to mend and heal in spirit, soul, emotions, mind, and body. ... It is also a clear and powerful representation of overt and subtle aspects and examples of how fellow-beings can serve persons who are mending--and perhaps taking months and months to do so: not 'interfering' or following the person around (or getting 'in his face') asking constant poking questions. The the cafe' owner and the ancient mariner stand back, stand by, and provide time and space, while sort of watching over him--including in anonymous ways such as invisibly providing needed things, like those quarters to continue running the shower-water. This is a set of forms of a Ministry of Presence, which is not about 'saying' or 'doing' lots of things...it's about being profoundly yet quietly Present and totally taking cues from the person. ..... ..... We learn very early in the beginning of the movie why he is drawn to that particular boat, which itself has great meaning and import. .... What others have written about the filmography and setting of the film holds true as well--it is strikingly beautiful, as are the musical scores (cues) throughout the film. ... All of the songs are Perfect, apt, and ideally placed in the film.

....What I don't know is if the subtitles (which just happened to be set to "on" when it ran on Prime Video) are the ones that would be on a DVD version; the 'subtitles' are strange a lot of the time, e.g., saying "noise" instead of "footsteps" or "engine running," and are outright incorrect in other instances. ... so it seems as if whoever did the closed captioning may have only been half paying attention, unskilled, or inebriated. Unknown; however, the captioning is quite odd...

.... By the way, I had no idea how the story was going to progress or how it would end, and my thoughts along the way about certain things that would or would not happen were incorrect. However, one knows, by default and from how the movie starts, the basic reason for the Young Mariner's despair.

Overall "Hide Away" is beautifully done from several standpoints and is worth seeing for a thoughtful, careful unfoldment of a real human living out a period of the beginning of some measure of healing and psychological and emotional recovery.

Feelings galore

[LOL101LOL · 8/10 · 26 June 2012]

I have always taken a liking to Josh Lucas as an actor, simple but an very effective actor, and he did this role justice. He relays all those feelings of loss and sorrow in a very convincing way, sure as per other review on here, being hurt, having lost loved one's along the way does make you feel more part of the simple but very effective storyline.

Myself having had to deal twice with the loss of a long term relationship, found some real comfort in the pain of this film, it made me realize the whole madness of sadness I had suffered from for years, but it reminded me as well how far I had come the last few years, but I am sure even if you had a happy run in life, you will find this a good solid drama and at times it will even send that chill down your spine, like it did with me a few times.

Sure it is not that hard to see where it goes with the storyline, but with Josh at his best, a great supporting cast, some real nice scenery, great music score, makes this film well worth watching. It's good to see a film that makes me want to feel life again.

A very very solid 8 out of 10

Pure Cinema Art

[davisonhorst · 9/10 · 28 December 2012]

Two excellent actors, Josh Lucas and James Cromwell, headline this deeply moving and interesting movie. It's a simple story of overwhelming guilt and grief. An intelligent executive who is reduced to a helpless shell of his former self through an extreme tragedy. It seems he has come to this semi isolated place in upper Michigan to blank out horrific memories and in the process even contemplates suicide more than once. Beautiful Israeli actress Ayelet Zurer, the waitress, feels his pain from afar but seemingly does not want to interfere and just watches during most of the movie.

Being a hopeless romantic I am puzzled by two aspects of this movie. The first is the blond employee at the supermarket, Helen (Anne Faba). Having seen him at the supermarket a few times and apparently noticing how messed up he is, she comes to visit him one night and stays on the boat with him but sleeps in a separate compartment. She seems to have been abused and he comforts her. Nothing is ever explored with her beyond that instance. The second is when the waitress finally ventures down to his boat and climbs in bed with him to comfort him and to make love. Again, nothing is explored beyond that one time and for the rest of the movie they both seem as strangers to one another. He eventually sells the boat and returns to the big city (I'm thinking Chicago) where he worked and lived. He does not even say goodbye to anyone when he leaves.

I would recommend this movie to people who are deep in their understanding of life and how we are each only one step away from tragedy every day in our lives. Although the dialog is limited the movie does move along going from one scene to another and one season to another rather quickly. I got cold just watching the fall turn into winter in upper Michigan.

a haunting submersion into personal redemption

[dietmarpetutschnig · 9/10 · 17 November 2012]

This movie - is a fascinating & haunting personal growth story - but to understand it helps if you live on a boat / are on aboard one / own a boat.

Many aspects in this story would be lost on apartment or house dwellers (as well they should).

A true portrait of life on an older vessel in adverse conditions - cold & condensation is are just some of them.

My personal favorite - the scene with the head !

These parallels of repairing ones vessel back to live from total neglect is no simply task. Repairing & restoring - while suffering through it - is so contrary to the rapid throw away and sink'em style of other stories or lifestyles..

This movies sticks with you and evolves - if you give it the time it needs to fill your sails with air to propel you forward - caution this is NOT a mega cruise and there is no fresh shrimp at the buffet on the lido deck !

Powerful, sailing-themed, guilt-grief survival artsy jewel

[ReviewByGisele · 9/10 · 9 August 2020]

Alternately titled Hide Away - which is how it found me. It took about 15 minutes to get into it, and I am so glad I did. The beginning holds us down in Josh Lucas' 'depths of despair, so I will fix a sailboat' phase. Spectacular scenery, slightly old-school cinematography and the minimal dialogue work well to sustain the journey this many goes through. We don't fully grasp the source of his pain until the end. And it is painful. (Note to parents - PG 13, however an intense, though no parts shown, love scene in last 1/4) The beautiful remoteness of the location and the characters played by Ayelet Zurer as the philosophical waitress with her own secrets, and James Cromwell as the ancient mariner support the viewer's immersive experience. The use of Longfellow's "The Children's Hour' poem was brilliant. Loved it!

Those who grieve deeply will understand this film.

[xcrpkrycz · 8/10 · 4 September 2021]

Having read the reviews I was hesitant to watch. As the story unfolds the journey hit home to my own path of grief from losing my parents within 3 months of each other. Gave my heart hope for survival from of the knee bending pain. Look for symbolism that the negative reviews missed. Helps to embrace the healing process. Thank you for making this film. To the critics who wrote negatively, you missed the boat, pun intended. May you never experience such deep loss to have to walk this same path!

Well Done

[cbarneey · 8/10 · 13 May 2022]

Loved this film and all the actors' performances. Josh Lucas has always been a favorite and his understated deliverance really brings it home.

He seemingly lost his family and buys a broken down boat mirroring his broken spirit. Oddly enough the name of the boat is Herperus which means the spirit of night giving way to the light of the dawn. Though we see him go through anguish and drinking himself into oblivion he does it so we don't feel sorry for him but observe his journey seeing where it will end.

In the end he finishes fixing up the boat and befriending the two locals who stay at the marina where his boat is and does not even take it for a spin but sells it.

Something magical about this film without being overdone or drawn out into boredom.

What does it take to regain your sanity?

[info-90701 · 8/10 · 8 November 2021]

This is a lovely film about forgiving yourself and finding the ways and people who help you accomplish that. Josh Lucas is brilliantly understated in his performance, which helps the viewer focus on the emotional journey he has embarked upon and is trying to find his sea legs through to survival.

It is well written, well shot and clear in its intention to cause self-reflection as we take the journey with the main character. It is a simple, quiet film so you must be ready for that and willing to allow the events to unfold before you, because you can't push the timing or the information to achieve a faster pace.

It is wonderful for those who have the patience and don't look for quick answers.

Introspective

[cbeardad-25458 · 8/10 · 1 August 2021]

Definitely not boring. Slow moving as many "deeper" movies tend to be. Many of us have experienced points of reflection and the desire to just disappear. John Lucas accomplishes that but... there's a price for redemption.