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Steel City
Truly Indie

Steel City reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 67 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
5.3 out of 10
based on 15 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 3 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: R for language and brief drug use

Starring John Heard, Tom Guiry, America Ferrera, Clayne Crawford, James McDaniel, Laurie Metcalf, and Raymond J. Barry

In a small Midwestern town, when generations of men march off to the local steel mill every morning and find reprieve every night at the local tavern, the men of the Lee family are tormented their lives in stagnation. When the patriarch is out on a short furlough from jail, he must try and bring his damaged family back together, unburdening them of the decades of hurt and resentment he's caused. What he learns is you can never take back the past, but you can let go of it. (Truly Indie)


GENRE(S): Drama  
WRITTEN BY: Brian Jun  
DIRECTED BY: Brian Jun  
RELEASE DATE: Theatrical: May 25, 2007 
RUNNING TIME: 95 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

Nominated, Grand Jury Prize (Dramatic), 2006 Sundance Film Festival; Nominated, Best Supporting Male (Barry), 2007 Independent Spirit Awards

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...

83
Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
Steel City could have used more rhythmic drive, but if Jun keeps weaving together characters this compelling, he could be a major film artist in the making.
Read Full Review
80
The Hollywood Reporter James Greenberg
The only misstep Jun makes, and it's hard to fault him given the budget, is the mediocre and at times heavy-handed use of music. Still, it's an unqualified success from the heartland.
Read Full Review
75
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker
A quietly, somberly effective American indie drama.
Read Full Review
75
San Francisco Chronicle Justin Berton
Steel City makes a valiant attempt to add some new tweaks to the genre best described as life-sucks-growing-up-in-a-mill-town.
Read Full Review
75
Boston Globe Ty Burr
Steel City may be the only movie released this year that's so observant you can hear what the characters AREN'T saying.
Read Full Review
75
Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
One of the most hopeful movies I've seen recently--not just for its humane, realistic story line, but in its very being.
Read Full Review
75
The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson
For the most part, they live life convincingly, in a refreshingly inward-looking, well-made film that's smart enough to stay small, and leave the car crashes to the big summer action movies.
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70
Variety David Rooney
Its honest, unshowy performances and textured depiction of life in a working-class community in a nowhere Southern Illinois town make this modest indie feature an affecting experience.
Read Full Review
70
Chicago Reader Joshua Katzman
Jun, a downstate native, has an ear for plainspoken dialogue and neither glamorizes nor patronizes his characters.
Read Full Review
70
New York Magazine David Edelstein
It has vivid characters, a strong sense of place, and a free-floating hopelessness that never precludes the possibility of meaningful action.
Read Full Review
70
The New York Times Neil Genzlinger
Mostly Mr. Jun's script is sharp, and Laurie Metcalf, James McDaniel, America Ferrera and Raymond J. Barry in supporting roles help keep the tale mesmerizing, in a small-scale sort of way.
Read Full Review
63
New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
A shaky but promising debut, Brian Jun's downbeat family drama is likely to make you feel a whole lot better about your own life.
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60
Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar
The movie's strength is in the performances. And they're enough to make Steel City worth a look.
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50
Village Voice Aaron Hillis
Whatever Steel City lacks in oomph or even originality, it at least breaks even with its working-class authenticity and unexpectedly well-rounded ensemble.
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50
New York Post Lou Lumenick
Excellent performances by a good cast and a fairly authentic look at working-class struggles go only so far.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 5.3 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Jay H gave it a6:
Well acted, evenly paced drama. It's nothing outstanding, but I never lost interest. The characters are richly developed and it's believably told.

tom c gave it a9:
Yhis movie explores non sexual relationships between men as few movies ever have. It is slightly slow paced at times but otherwise a highly effective drama. A shame that apparently very few have seen it.

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