The Odd Way Home Arrives On DVD From Breaking Glass Pictures On June 24

There is a sentiment among cartographers that “all maps lie.”  How can you possibly navigate the world you live in when “all maps lie?”

June 24 will see the DVD debut of writer/director Raj (Rajeev) Nirmalakhandan’s The Odd Way Home from Breaking Glass Pictures.   It is a beautifully crafted story about two very different people navigating through unfamiliar terrain — metaphorically speaking — where things that they’ve come to expect in their respective worlds are not necessarily true; where their “life maps” could be lies (large and small).

No person could be further off course than Maya (Rumer Willis — Sorority Row, The House Bunny, Wild Cherry, etc.).   We first meet her while she is getting the snot kicked out her by her ruthless boyfriend — she’s an off-putting individual with a chuck of metal drilled through her nose.   She’s attractive and smart, but she can’t see it.

Maya takes to the road and just starts driving … that is until her car breaks down and she finds herself stranded in some remote corner of New Mexico (filmed on location in and around Las Cruces).

Duncan (Chris Marquette — Just Friends, The Tic Code, etc,) knows exactly where he is at any given moment — of course he hasn’t gone far, never more than a few miles from his grandmother’s home.   He’s autistic, high-functioning, probably more akin to Aspergers in that he dwells on maps and finds himself socially aloof — stuck in endless routines.  

But he can function on his own in that he can get from point A to point B … the purpose of which, of course, eludes him.   

She literally steals his home (a very funny bit) and their adventure begins.   The odd couple’s odd couple on the road!

Filmmaker Raj Nirmalakhandan takes these two very different people and throws them together in a story that absolutely draws you in.   The film is technically well-crafted, the script hits all of the right notes and Rumer Willis shines as the very angry young woman who begins to find peace (and her way) through the calm, accepting soul projected by Marquette. 

He too begins to move beyond his “safe” little world to make discoveries that will never make him quite whole, but perhaps a more complete person.  You have to understand that Duncan is not stupid, he is just stuck in a glass cage — he can see the world all around him, but functioning in it is difficult.

The film has had limited exposure — a few film festivals — and with the June 3 street date, Breaking Glass Pictures has the time to bang the promotional drums.   This could be a real sleeper if handled correctly.

Bonus features include writer/director Lisanne Sartor’s short film titled Six Letter Word starring Rumer Willis as a mother with an autistic son, plus there is a behind the scenes featurette.

To download this week's complete edition of the DVD and Blu-ray Release Report:  DVD & Blu-ray Release Report