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Sorry, Haters
IFC Films

Sorry, Haters reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 43 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
7.5 out of 10
based on 15 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 7 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: Not Rated

Starring Robin Wright Penn, Abdel Kechiche, Élodie Bouchez, Aasif Mandvi, Sandra Oh, Remy K. Selma, and Josh Hamilton

Sorry, Haters is a psychological thriller that dares to capture the anxiety of a city on edge. With powerful performance, this film has the courage to ask the most forbidden questions about who we are. (IFC Films)


GENRE(S): Drama  |  Suspense/Thriller  
WRITTEN BY: Jeff Stanzler  
DIRECTED BY: Jeff Stanzler  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: August 8, 2006 
Theatrical: March 1, 2006 
RUNNING TIME: 83 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

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
The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray
So long as Sorry, Haters stays ambiguous and sticks to long, winding conversations between Penn and Kechiche, the movie rolls along and builds momentum.
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75
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
A film that begins in intrigue, develops in fascination and ends in a train wreck. It goes spectacularly wrong, and yet it contains such a gripping performance by Robin Wright Penn that it succeeds, in a way, despite itself.
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70
Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir
A well-acted little thriller of the sort sometimes called a "twisty" -- I wouldn't call it a great movie, but it'll keep you guessing about its characters and it has an intriguing mean streak.
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60
The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen
An audacious, highly contemporary psychological thriller, Sorry,Haters is the kind of audience provoker certain to elicit at least as many haters as admirers.
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60
Village Voice Michael Atkinson
It's all about the performances. Kechiche is reserved and superbly troubled, but Wright Penn, her stardom-crippling reserves of bitterness and bile rising to the surface, is a scary monster in full bloom, and her habitation of this wacky role makes the movie worth its weight in pixels.
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58
Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
The movie is cross-eyed with fuzzy thinking; it's also an interesting, if wacko, artistic response to world events.
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50
TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
Stanzler's ideas about the psychic legacy of 9/11 are so confused -- that by the time he unveils the final plot twist, his film has lost every shred of credibility.
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40
Variety Robert Koehler
Penn looks bewildered in a role that simply doesn't track, but Kechiche rises to the occasion. Stanzler's helming, shot blandly in digital vid, amounts to point-and-shoot.
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38
Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
A preposterous screwball psychological drama.
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30
LA Weekly Ella Taylor
This rancidly exploitative movie is redeemed only by canny performances by both leads, as well as Sandra Oh in a supporting role as Phoebe’s friend.
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30
Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
"Sorry, viewers" is more like it.
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30
The New York Times Jeannette Catsoulis
Unfolds with such utter looniness that the horrible final moments are more likely to inspire laughter than shock. Casually insulting our emotions and intelligence, Mr. Stanzler seems to have shaped his film with one goal in mind: to prove that audacity and recklessness are acceptable substitutes for craft and common sense. Needless to say, they're not.
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25
New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
So misguided as to be genuinely mystifying, Jeff Stanzler's queasily blended political psychodrama isn't simply a lousy movie. It's also a lousy movie that boldly exploits the events of 9/11.
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25
New York Post V.A. Musetto
Not even Sandra Oh, as Phoebe's boss, and Elodie Bouchez ("The Dreamlife of Angels"), as Ashade's sister-in-law, can keep Sorry, Haters from becoming a sorry mess.
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25
San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub
It's a well-meaning but ultimately feeble and misguided attempt to say something profound about the aftereffects of the 2001 attacks on New York.
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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 7.5 (out of 10) based on 7 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Ken M. gave it an8:
To think this movie tries to say something profound about 9/11 is to profoundly miss the point. To believe the ending is to have an understanding of the characters, which directly correlates to the performances. I thought the admirable performances gave the ending some plausability, if not credibility.

Judy K. gave it a9:
Great, and surprising to the end! - just what thrillers are supposed to do. However, the forum discussion with Tim Robbins left me wondering why that group didn't ask the author what certain parts were about. [***SPOILERS***] (1) The dog had to die because she loved him - therefore he was a weakness for her endeavors. (2) The gift into Ashade's pocket was a gift (as she said) from her parents and she felt it was only right to give it to him. That gift, of course, was a bit of the explosives she received in the mail (apparently from her parents). (3) Problem: Remember what "yellow yoko" said at lunch? Phoebe was a Calvinist. But, Calvinists believe in Pre-Destination, so there is no reason to blow things up (and "cause" what has already been set in motion by God). It is there that the author tries to make Christian fanaticism look just as deadly as Islam fanaticism - but Calvinism isn't the proper avenue. It is more likely that a Calvinist would "not let a sorceress live" (as Scripture demands) rather than blow up the enemies of Israel (for Israel must have enemies to beat in the final war). No victory if no war, no war if no enemy - so that enemy plays an important part in prophecy. Nevertheless, I think the author/director portrayed the meanness and desperation quite well, including the seeds planted generations before - and the soldiers need to remove weakness once recognized. I was shocked at the turn of events, but after catching my breath came to appreciate its depth and truth.

Chad S. gave it a6:
Sonic Youth's music is so brilliant, it made "High Tension"("Superstar" was featured in the trailer) look like a great film. Same thing here. The filmmaker's use of "Bull in the Heather" in concert with a Isabelle Hupert-like Robin Wright Penn definitely cooks up a stirring final scene. But it's all style. The set-up for this shocking act of violence is problematic. It's hard to believe that Ashade(Abdel Kechiche) would be so gullible in allowing Phoebe(Wright) to be his confidant after their initial falling out. "Sorry Haters", however, is worth seeing for a revelatory performance by Robin Wright Penn, who outright doesn't want to be the wind beneath anybody's wings. Especially, god forbid, an Asian's.

Nelson B. gave it a9:
Intriguing and thought-provoking. It seems many reviewers have missed the forest for the trees on this one. It's not some grand statement about 911 nor is Robin Wright Penn's character driven by 911 angst. Wright Penn does a fantastic job portraying a character in complete mental implosion. It's a Taxi Driver for a post-911 age. Fantastic stuff.

Ken G. gave it a3:
Not only a bad movie, but one that feels kind of cheap the way it bends over backwards to exploit 9/11, while really having nothing to do with 9/11. Maybe it could have got away with this, if it was better done, but this is neither well done, nor well thought out. It feels like filmmakers had a broad idea of what they wanted to do, but didn't give alot of thought on how to do it. Story just gets less believeable and more ridiculous as it goes along. Actually, what this feels most like is a 3rd-rate "Fatal attraction", without the sex.

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