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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Goodbye Solo

EMAILPRINTRoadside Attractions

Goodbye Solo reviews
89
7.5 User Score:

Movie Info

Genre(s): Comedy  |  Drama

Written by: Bahareh Azimi
Ramin Bahrani

Directed by: Ramin Bahrani

Release Date:
Theatrical: March 27, 2009
DVD: August 25, 2009

Running Time: 91 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: Not Rated

Starring Souléymane Sy Savané, Red West, Diana Franco Galindo, Carmen Leyva, and Lane "Roc" Williams

On the lonely roads of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, two men forge an improbable friendship that will change both of their lives forever. Solo is a Senegalese cab driver working to provide a better life for his young family. William is a tough Southern good ol‘ boy with a lifetime of regrets. One man‘s American dream is just beginning, while the other‘s is quickly winding down. But despite their differences, both men soon realize they need each other more than either is willing to admit. Through this unlikely but unforgettable friendship, Goodbye Solo deftly explores the passing of a generation as well as the rapidly changing face of America. (Roadside Attractions)

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...

100

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Wherever you live, when this film opens, it will be the best film in town.

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100

The New York Times A.O. Scott

Grace is also what defines Mr. Bahrani's filmmaking. I can't think of anything else to call the quality of exquisite attention, wry humor and wide-awake intelligence that informs every frame of this almost perfect film.

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100

Slate Dana Stevens

A film of great intelligence and quiet assurance, Goodbye Solo exhilarates without ever trafficking in easy uplift.

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100

San Francisco Chronicle Reyhan Harmanci

Almost frighteningly alive.

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100

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

Goodbye Solo is visually simple and stunning, especially the haunting nightscapes of Solo's perambulations. But more important, Goodbye Solo is driven by deep feeling and sensitivity. Don't miss it.

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100

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

At heart, though, every moviegoer can recognize a love story, no matter how unusual the context.

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100

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

A quietly soulful study of two very different men.

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100

Portland Oregonian Marc Mohan

The acting is flawless, the world feels utterly real, and the finale accomplishes the miracle of finding in the everyday world something profound.

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90

Variety Ronnie Scheib

Utterly engrossing dual-character study, unfolding with a serene disregard for indie quirkiness, Goodbye Solo radiates authenticity.

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90

New York Magazine David Edelstein

Like his protagonist, Bahrani never gives up on William; his camera never stops probing. He loves West's face, and he honors its mystery.

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90

Village Voice Scott Foundas

Bahrani possesses a disciplined sense of composition and form, a vision of the world that extends beyond the boundaries of his own navel, and the understanding that it is possible to make films about class and race in this country without pandering to the audience.

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89

Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones

Bahrani's small marvel of a film.

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88

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

It sounds like the old unstoppable-force-meets-immovable-object trick. Ramin Bahrani's Goodbye Solo has the trappings of such a story, but, mercifully, none of the follow-through.

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88

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

The acting's so true, and Bahrani's so observant, you find yourself caring about everyone onscreen.

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88

New York Post Lou Lumenick

The role of William is a perfect fit for Red West, a well-weathered member of Elvis Presley's Memphis Mafia who has served as a bodyguard as well as a stuntman and bit-part actor.

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88

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

It's intelligent and emotional, not studied or sappy.

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83

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

The result is a playful, elusive movie that isn't so much heartwarming as soul-cleansing.

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80

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

Most of the movie's subterranean emotion is found in the unsettled relationship between Solo and William, and in the extraordinary performances by the two leading men.

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80

The New Yorker David Denby

He [Bahrani] encloses his two characters in a motel room, but he doesn't make them buddies, as a Hollywood movie would. They are characterized in great detail as separate beings.

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80

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

Its style is spare, rigorous, almost anti-dramatic, but it deals thoughtfully with some of the most complex elements of the human equation.

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80

The Hollywood Reporter Gautaman Bhaskaran

It is both funny and sad, placid and provocative and, above all, hopeful and despairing.

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80

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

The emotion here is genuine, but the outlook is tough: in Bahrani's movies we're all aliens to each other.

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80

Empire Patrick Peters

Subtle and unflinching, this is genuine and charming.

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75

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Ultimately, Goodbye Solo works because the screenplay, actors, and director combine to craft honest, compelling individuals.

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75

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

What distinguishes Goodbye Solo, beyond Savané’s larger-than-life personality bumping up against West’s intractable curmudgeon, is the continued particularity of Bahrani’s work.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 7.5 (out of 10) based on 26 User Votes

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

301 gave it a9:
The palpable melancholy may perturb the average cinema-goer seeking pure thrill. The others will find an ephemeral snapshot of the changing face of America.

desmond p. gave it a7:
Did not really work for me. The sitiation is so highly improbable and the lead character mumbles his way throuhout the film so as to be nearly unintelligible.

Evan S. gave it a9:
We've become so desynthezied by Hollywood schlock that we have no idea that a film can be as soulfood and good as this one.

Firstian A gave it a4:
I think this film is overrated by the film critics. The story is far from good, no climax, and the ending... so flat, no meaning, I hope any explanation or surprise or even twist in the end but I don't get it. Another so what movie.

Nick J gave it a10:
One of the greatest films of this or any decade. I have seen Bahrani's two other films, and think that they are wonderful as well. However, even they are not comparable to Goodbye Solo, which brilliantly explores the theme of overwhelming, unfixable loneliness and the passing of generations in modern day America. A.O. Scott said that this was an "almost perfect film". If any movie has ever come in close contact with perfection, it is this

Sean K gave it a10:
The best movie of the year. One of the most intelligent, unpretentious, meditative, human, and heartbreaking films to come onto theaters in years.

carlito d gave it a7:
Maybe i expected too much, but this seemed only mildly inspiring and quasi entertaining. it felt like it was trying... I don't know just not enough substance.

Read more user comments >

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