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You Can Count On Me
Paramount Classics


8.5

based on 31 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 24 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA 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).

GENRE(S):	Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Ken Lonergan
DIRECTED BY:	Ken Lonergan
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: June 26, 2001 Video: June 26, 2001 Theatrical: November 10, 2000
RUNNING TIME:	109 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

Received two 2001 Oscar nominations: Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actress (Linney).

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...

100

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.

100

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

Beautiful, compassionate, articulate domestic drama.

100

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.

100

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

There may be bigger, costlier, weighter films this year. There's none lovelier.

100

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.

100

Washington Post Desson Thomson

A humanistic gem of a movie, with unforgettable performances from Linney and Ruffalo.

100

Newsweek David Ansen

Few films have explored the complicated bonds of love and resentment between brother and sister with such delightful honesty.

100

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.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

A drama that embraces the ambiguities and contradictions of family ties and human nature in all its irrational glory.

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.

Film.com Elizabeth Weitzman

It's a rare thrill -- in this cinematically hollow year.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

Melancholy little gem of a movie.

Time Richard Schickel

Maybe these lives are, objectively speaking, inconsequential. But they have a resonance that big, sappy "relationship" pictures ought to envy.

Variety Emanuel Levy

A sensitive, intimate, enormously touching drama.

Dallas Observer Bill Gallo

In this modest but brilliant little movie, we find ourselves immersed in life itself.

Film.com Peter Brunette

One of the best pictures I've seen all year. Funny, touching, even inspiring at times.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Wittily written and deliciously acted, Lonergan's debut film is a clear cut above the average.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

It's a compassionate story about what makes people tick and what really matters.

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.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Beautifully acted, minutely observed story.

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.

Chicago Reader Ronnie Scheib

Lonergan's validation of big-minded small-town life has been neatened up to the point of blandness.

New York Post Jonathan Foreman

Visually flat and uninteresting and too often feels like a (leisurely paced) filmed play.

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!

You Can Count On Me Paramount Classics

You Can Count On Me
Paramount Classics