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Chalk

EMAILPRINTTenderloin Action Group

Chalk reviews
57
10.0 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 8 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 1 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Drama

Written by: Don Bajema
Rob Nilsson

Directed by: Rob Nilsson

Release Date:
Theatrical: August 25, 2000

Running Time: 134 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: Not rated

Starring Edwin Johnson, Johnnie Reese, Kelvin Han Yee, and Don Bajema

This gritty drama focuses on the misfits who hang out in a rundown California pool hall.

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

75

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Chalk is not the kind of movie many people will appreciate at first viewing. You have to understand who Nilsson and his actors are, and give some thought to the style, to appreciate it.

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75

New York Post V.A. Musetto

Difficult but rewarding.

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70

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

A sparing use of exterior shots during the mesmerizing buildup to the match heightens their impact, while invasively tight close-ups put the actors to the test.

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70

Village Voice Amy Taubin

What gives the film extra weight is the sense that these are not just actors trying to enhance their careers but real people seizing a chance for immortality.

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50

San Francisco Examiner Edvin Beitiks

An impressive low-whistle, hardscrabble look at the world of pool sharks and the people who crisscross their lives.

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50

The New York Times Dave Kehr

Finally fails to escape the conventions of the Hollywood cinema it so proudly deplores.

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50

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Stack

Has unusual visual vitality in a John Cassavetes vein. For the adventurous, it's worth checking out.

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40

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

Emerges as an artful, courageous, experimental work that is as compelling as it is impaired.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 10.0 (out of 10) based on 1 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Yoon C. gave it a 10:
Comparable to Mean Streets but in many respects bolder and more daring, and definitely more mature and thoughtful, this is a powerful movie about existential angst, loneliness and fear, self-doubt, and dream of redemption thru a thicket of corruption, compromise, ruthless disregard, and self-realization. In its sexual dynamic, racial relations, individual portrayals Chalk never goes to the blackboard to give us neat little lessons as with Spike Lee or John Sayles. Instead, it sears the disparate elements of American society into antagonistic but ultimately shared pain and angst. Visually and dramatically it may strike some viewers as messyand cluttered but this very texture is integral to the movie's vision of life. Has a great, powerful ending that's well earned.

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