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You Can Count On Me

Universal acclaim
Based on 31 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 24 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama
Written by: Ken Lonergan
Directed by: Ken Lonergan
Release Date:
Theatrical: November 10, 2000
DVD: June 26, 2001
Running Time: 109 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R for language, some drug use and a scene of sexuality
Starring Laura Linney, Mark Ruffalo, Rory Culkin, Matthew Broderick, Jon Tenney, J. Smith-Camero, and Ken Lonergan
A young mother (Linney) is cheating on her fiance (Tenney) with her boss (Broderick), and her life becomes further complicated by the return home of her wild brother (Ruffalo).
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
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...
Slate David Edelstein
The best American movie of the year. Has a subtext so powerful that it reaches out and pulls you under. Even when the surface is tranquil, you know in your guts what's at stake.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
Beautiful, compassionate, articulate domestic drama.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Carla Meyer
It's simply a quiet and heartbreaking look at the dynamics of one family. That's the beauty of it.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone Peter Travers
There may be bigger, costlier, weighter films this year. There's none lovelier.
Boston Globe Jay Carr
Satisfying in every respect, it's a piece of blue-collar chamber music, never treating the characters cheaply, allowing them a complex entwinement of emotions.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Desson Thomson
A humanistic gem of a movie, with unforgettable performances from Linney and Ruffalo.
Read Full Review >Newsweek David Ansen
Few films have explored the complicated bonds of love and resentment between brother and sister with such delightful honesty.
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
It's rare to get a good movie about the touchy adult relationship of a sister and brother. Rarer still for the director to be more fascinated by the process than the outcome. This is one of the best movies of the year.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker
A drama that embraces the ambiguities and contradictions of family ties and human nature in all its irrational glory.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
It's a movie about having a sibling and all of the pain, joy, love and anxiety that that entails: a movie, in other words, for almost everyone.
Read Full Review >Film.com Elizabeth Weitzman
It's a rare thrill -- in this cinematically hollow year.
Read Full Review >Time Richard Schickel
Maybe these lives are, objectively speaking, inconsequential. But they have a resonance that big, sappy "relationship" pictures ought to envy.
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Bill Gallo
In this modest but brilliant little movie, we find ourselves immersed in life itself.
Read Full Review >Film.com Peter Brunette
One of the best pictures I've seen all year. Funny, touching, even inspiring at times.
Read Full Review >USA Today Staff [Not Credited]
The best drama you've seen about Anytown, USA, since "American Beauty."
Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
One of the most rewarding and engaging movies of the year. Don't miss it.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
A small but moving film that gets the details right (life in a sleepy burg, sidewalk chats between old high school pals) and gets at the heart of human longing for family, for love.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
Honest, poignant and very funny, full of memorable, moving moments.
Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard
It's the sum of things not spoken, things too painful to express, that's the heart of this quietly moving drama.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Hazel-Dawn Dumpert
(Linney and Ruffalo) are just beautiful enough, in fact, to be in the movies and still remain convincing as authentic folk, and their performances are tremendously moving.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
With warm humor and perceptive writing, director Kenneth Lonergan displays a gift for creating realistic characters and a compelling story.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones
Writer/director Lonergan succeeds at capturing eloquently the disappointments of growing up and growing old. But he isn't always successful at reining in the schmaltz.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
Wittily written and deliciously acted, Lonergan's debut film is a clear cut above the average.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jami Bernard
It's a compassionate story about what makes people tick and what really matters.
Read Full Review >Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir
A subtle and often surprising study of the relationship between damaged adult siblings, full of mordant humor and dramatic invention.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Amy Taubin
Seems like a TV movie. A well-written, sympathetically acted TV movie, to be sure, but so timid and clumsy in its deployment of picture, sound, and editing that you have to wonder if executive producer Martin Scorsese bothered to give notes.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Ronnie Scheib
Lonergan's validation of big-minded small-town life has been neatened up to the point of blandness.
Read Full Review >New York Post Jonathan Foreman
Visually flat and uninteresting and too often feels like a (leisurely paced) filmed play.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 24 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Joe W. gave it a10:
I know how pretentious this sounds but I liked the religious ambiguity of the movie...Terry's view on life is so well presented and rings true of most people I know --especially when he talks to the priest--and the priest is not a foreboding feature either--he's reasonable-- the writing is awesome--ken lonergan's commentary is great! really worth a listen--see this movie!
J. Ryan G. gave it an8:
A rather exceptional little family drama that makes you want to call up your sibling just to hear her voice. Especially impressive is Mark Ruffalo, who steals the show and delivers it right where it ought to end up.
Shazib K. gave it a10:
An excellent production, emotional yet powerful drama with all the elements of real life events. For those, who can't stand scenes with longer dialogues, this may not be the film to watch, but if you want to see real behavior from simple characters, this is the movie to watch. Depicts on a bro/sis relationship in a way no other film has done before.
Brianne gave it a10:
Touching and intimate film that allows viewers to observe the intricate and sometimes difficult bond between a brother and sister.
Morris gave it a 6:
Lovely acting and well observed screenplay, but Amy Taubin above was right: it's about as visually inventive as...
C. Monster gave it a 3:
One of those movies where I hear critics and fans rave, and wonder what the fuss is all about. It's slow and ponderous, and you just keep waiting and waiting for something to happen, but nothing does. The performances are all fine, but all of these actors have done better work elsewhere. The ending of the movie doesn't satisfy, either. The best thing that can be said here is that you feel frustrated with Ruffalo's character throughout. It takes a lot for a performance to deliver that level of energy throughout that, as a viewer, you're frustrated. But, otherwise, this just felt like a waste of my time. This was nominated for a writing Oscar why???
Jaime gave it a 10:
This movie makes you forget the typical hollywood formula. You follow these characters (albeit slowly) through the realities of life and come to care for them and identify with them along the way. Don't miss it!
