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Is Anybody There?
Metascore
54 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 19 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 19
  3. Negative: 1 out of 19
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  1. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Betsy Sharkey
    90
    It is also hard not to see remnants of a younger Michael Caine -- beautifully seductive and enigmatic all those years ago in "Alfie." He has said his wife cried when she saw the performance; you understand why.
  2. Empire
    Reviewed by: Philip Wilding
    80
    Caine leads an impeccable cast in a story that is as touching as it is funny, turning the mundane minutiae of fading lives into a vibrant display.
  3. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    80
    The sentimentality is held in check by Caine, who rises to the occasion with a bleak, angry performance.
  4. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    75
    Blending humor and heartbreak in a performance that makes a small movie a richly satisfying one, Caine truly is magic.
  5. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Marc Mohan
    75
    A kid-meets-curmudgeon comedy that transcends its formulaic skeleton thanks both to the veteran actor's charm and a smarter-than-average screenplay.
  6. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Michael Rechtshaffen
    70
    While Caine and young Milner make for amusing adversaries, it's nice to see Crowley paying respect to his elders by populating the retirement home with a number of familiar faces, including those belonging to Rosemary Harris, Sylvia Syms and longtime "Coronation Street" resident Thelma Barlow.
  7. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    63
    I can't really recommend the film, unless you admire Caine as much as I do, which is certainly possible.
  8. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Connie Ogle
    63
    You don't need a Ouija board to suss out where all this is heading, but Is Anybody There? counteracts its deficiencies -- predictability, sentimentality -- with a healthy dose of dark humor.
  9. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    63
    All-too-familiar and schmaltzy territory for both coming-of-age films and movies with elderly actors.
  10. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Joe Neumaier
    60
    More deft than it first appears, director John Crowley's gentle-but-not-sappy drama features another late-day masterpiece-in-miniature from Michael Caine.
  11. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Philip Kennicott
    60
    Caine is magnificent, and the film is worth a look for his contribution alone. But Milner is a promising actor, too, and the pairing of young and old is believable and occasionally very moving.
  12. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Walter Addiego
    50
    Requires us to repress any thoughts about stale material and keep Caine's heartfelt performance front and center.
  13. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Ty Burr
    50
    Writer Peter Harness has based his screenplay on his own childhood experiences, but personal doesn't necessarily translate to fresh.
  14. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Stephen Holden
    50
    What balances the movie is Mr. Caine's exceptional portrayal of old age as the accumulation of a lifetime's experience. In his performance the child, the youthful rogue and the forgetful codger all live at once.
  15. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Tasha Robinson
    50
    The script is always shakier than the performers trying to bring it across, and by the third act, it lets them down completely.
  16. NPR
    Reviewed by: Bob Mondello
    45
    All of this is at once predictable and implausible -- a two-hander of a story so overplotted and overpopulated that by the time it's winding up, the question isn't so much Is Anybody There? as it is, "Why on earth are so many bodies here?"
  17. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marc Savlov
    40
    On the whole, there are precious few life lessons in Is Anybody There? that haven't been noted before.
  18. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: Joe Morgenstern
    40
    No one could save Is Anybody There? from its treacly self and Michael Caine doesn't, but he gives it a grand try.
  19. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Nicolas Rapold
    30
    Even Crowley, who seems to have a knack with overloaded material, can't quite bring the thing in for a safe landing in all the slush.
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User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.6 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 10 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. danm
    9
    Although this movie has some cliches, it also has some fine acting and an uplifting underlying spirit . The bittersweet ending is especially well done. This is Caine's movie and it shows his magnificent range.… Full Review »
  2. TassiaB
    10
    This movie is the whole package. Go for the gallow's humor, stay for the emotional payoff. You won't regret it!
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