Junebug

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Amy Adams in a performance as deep as it is delightful, is the film's heart and also its flaky, wonderstruck soul.

LA Weekly Scott Foundas

Ensemble casts like this are not easy to come by. Adams is something more than that -- a brilliant young comedian bursting into bloom.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

This low-key drama is a miracle of mood, atmosphere, and sensitivity.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Junebug is a great film because it is a true film. It humbles other films that claim to be about family secrets and eccentricities. It understands that families are complicated and their problems are not solved during a short visit, just in time for the film to end. Families and their problems go on and on, and they aren't solved, they're dealt with.

The New Republic Stanley Kauffmann

The screenwriter Angus MacLachlan and the director Phil Morrison and an astonishingly perfect cast have quietly made a daring picture.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

One happy surprise after another, even when the content is bittersweet or sad.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

Manages to be one of the genuinely fresh discoveries of the summer, a little gem that deserves to become a big sleeper hit.

Slate David Edelstein

It's hugely entertaining, it's spectacularly acted, and it pricks you in all kinds of places. Maybe the best thing is to see it and let it bug you, too.

Los Angeles Times Carina Chocano

A deceptively simple, deeply resonant story about the inherent loneliness of family, the odds against assimilation and the enormous distances that can divide two people.

Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones

The sum is something deeply profound: about awkwardness, culture clash, failed connections, and – ultimately – the strength that comes from surviving a trial by fire.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

A movie that gets wonderfully under your skin.

USA Today Claudia Puig

Junebug has the feel of a good short story or novella.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

Brilliantly detailed, richly painted portrait.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Happily, Morrison's actors grasp his intentions perfectly, shading their roles so well that we never quite get a handle on anyone. Each player is outstanding, but the highest praise must go to Weston.

Premiere Peter Debruge

That rare kind of movie that contrasts "cultured" big-city characters with devout, "simple" folk without being condescending or judgmental of either camp.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Paula Nechak

The performances by Davidtz, Weston, Wilson and especially Adams stand out as Morrison paints his character study with raw, true bits continually tested by the absurdities of pain life dishes up.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

Wonderful performances and the director's continual inventiveness make Junebug a particularly promising first feature.

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

With its wise understanding of the magnetic pull (and invisible polarities) of family, Junebug is an auspicious debut for Morrison.

Empire David Parkinson

The scenario may be overly familiar, but the low-key approach and engaging performances make this an unexpected delight.

The Hollywood Reporter Duane Byrge

Not merely a sitcom of cultural clash. Screenwriter Angus Maclachlan has delicately etched a compelling portrait of a way of life whose decencies and simplicities are often dismissed as being "unsophisticated."

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

Written by Angus MacLachlan, this indie drama explores the lingering tension between north and south with vinegar and precision.

Village Voice Laura Sinagra

It's an exhilaratingly decentered tale, with the perspective shifting around so there's no character with whom we totally identify throughout.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

Junebug envelops us in texture of a world the movies rarely visit.

San Francisco Chronicle G. Allen Johnson

If there's any justice at all at next year's Academy Awards, we have our first can't-miss nominee for best supporting actress: Amy Adams.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

There is sadness and humor here, but all understated.

Dallas Observer Bill Gallo

Combining the tragic and the comic, this drama is amateurish in places, but it's a triumph of atmosphere (the makers are both North Carolinians) and the acting is first-rate.

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

Too slight to bear up under the weight of the final melodrama, and the film ends too abruptly, as if MacLachlan just ran out of things to write. Still, this visit to the old homestead is worthwhile, if only to meet its unflappable, charismatic women.

New York Post V.A. Musetto

Sensitive and sincere and has a talented ensemble cast.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

Sometimes one performance makes a film worthwhile, and Junebug has one: an astonishing, moving portrayal of down-home innocence and optimism by Amy Adams.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Morrison brings an amazingly sure hand to MacLachlan's prickly screenplay.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps

The drama loses shape before it really develops, but the sense of place--all wood paneling and animal knick-knacks--and the memorable performances keep it worth watching.

Variety Joe Leydon

Has a washed-out look that may be off-putting to auds who might otherwise enjoy the pic's uncondescending view of Southern characters and customs.

Film Threat Bob Westal

An admirable film, but its charms will be visible only to the most patient filmgoers.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

A textbook case of filmmakers who can't make up their minds about their characters; it's a failure of nerve disguised as dramatic ambiguity.