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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Steel City

EMAILPRINTTruly Indie

Steel City reviews
67
5.3 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 15 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 3 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Drama

Written by: Brian Jun

Directed by: Brian Jun

Release Date:
Theatrical: May 25, 2007

Running Time: 95 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

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)

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.

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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.

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75

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

A quietly, somberly effective American indie drama.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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70

Chicago Reader Joshua Katzman

Jun, a downstate native, has an ear for plainspoken dialogue and neither glamorizes nor patronizes his characters.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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What Our Users Said

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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