Aurora Borealis
Aurora Borealis Image
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Metascore
58 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 13 Critics What's this?

User Score
5.8 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 4 Ratings

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  • Starring: Donald Sutherland, Joshua Jackson, Juliette Lewis
  • Summary: Ever since the premature death of his father, 25-year-old Minneapolis slacker Duncan (Jackson) is content with shuffling aimlessly through life, hanging out with his lifelong friends, and ditching one dead-end job after another. Duncan takes a job as a handyman in a high-rise that allows him to be near his gravely ill grandfather Ronald (Sutherland), who's more than a handful for his grandmother Ruth (Fletcher). That newfound sense of purpose, plus a budding romance with home healthcare provider Kate (Lewis), gives Duncan the motivation to take charge of his life. However, Kate isn't one to stay in the same place for too long, and Duncan is soon torn between following her to California and a new, more responsible life, and his feelings of familial obligation to an increasingly suicidal Ronald. (Regent Releasing)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    88
    The real surprise here is Lewis, who seems to have finally hit on a role that balances her usual flakiness with smarts and an offbeat poignancy, and she delivers the strongest work of her adult career.
  2. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Andrew O'Hehir
    70
    Juliette Lewis makes Aurora Borealis into a funnier, richer, more powerful film than it has any reason to be.
  3. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Scott Foundas
    60
    Aurora Borealisulth -- yes, that title eventually comes home to roost -- doesn't offend in any way, but it's so self-consciously quaint, so unwaveringly "nice," that you nearly wish it did.
  4. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Sheri Linden
    60
    Although it is overloaded with backstory and often tries too hard, Aurora Borealis finds a reasonable balance between romance and family drama.

See all 13 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. TovaE.
    9
    Great acting by all the lead actors.
  2. ChadS.
    7
    During a pick-up hockey game, Duncan Shorter(Joshua Jackson) goes ballistic after a friend botches-up his perfect pass. The twenty-something slacker brushes up against the right epiphany when he realizes that hockey is a serious matter. After some careful thought, he'll realize it's life that's not a game, but there are indeed real winners and losers. "Aurora Borealis" tells the story of a Minneapolis native who needs to get lost in love, then get lost. His grandfather(played by Donald Sutherland) wants to die because he feels like a burden to his wife. What goes unsaid is that he's also an albatross to his grandson. Exactly what are Duncan's motivations, we wonder, as he helps Ronald(Sutherland) late in the film? Freedom, at long last, from caregiving and the onus of the past, must've crossed his mind with Kate's departure looming on the horizon. By the way, Juliette Lewis is great as the only well-adjusted, mature young person in the film; this coming from an actress known for a bevy of neurotic and sociopathic characters. "Aurora Borealis" is a feel-good movie for late bloomers.… Collapse
  3. KenG.
    5
    The problem is Jackson (who is the lead character), is the least interesting character in the movie. He's so nice, and wholesome, that he never comes across (except for the first few minutes), as the somewhat troubled guy, with personal demons and an attitude problem that the filmmakers want us to see him as. The movie also doesn't work as a love story, as I couldn't have cared less if Jackson and Lewis ended up together. The acting isn't bad, Sutherland and Lewis are pretty good, and even Jackson wasn't bad. (The problem was more the way his character was written, than with his performance)… Expand

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