Once Upon a Time in the Midlands
User Score
7.0 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 4 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4

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  1. ChadS.
    Oct 30, 2003
    7
    When "Once Upon a Time in the Midlands" pares down to its essential characters(this would be after bat meets car), strained comedy gives way to two declarations of love(one subtle and one loud) that cancels out the clown-beating and country music. Rhys Ifans gives an unsung performance as the sort of man Roy Orbison describes in "Running Scared". Like Alan Arkin in "13 Conversations About One Thing", he will be forgotten come Oscar time.… Expand
  2. DianeHoweE.
    Oct 23, 2003
    7
    Great contemporary family tale of divorce and husband coming back later -- way later to try and get back into the family thing again. British humour style.
  3. ERG1008
    Aug 23, 2010
    8
    Man returns to the Midlands from Glasgow to get back with his ex-wife after seeing her new man propose & fail to her on a TV show.
    Usual Shane Meadows affair with a good cast, funny dialogue, moving & Mike Leigh-light grit.
    For me, Rhys Ifans is just outstanding & after seeing him as Peter Cook recently & now this, think he's a very talented actor.
    Well worth a watch if you've enjoyed Mead    ows's other work.… Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
56 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 23 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 23
  3. Negative: 1 out of 23
  1. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Loren King
    63
    Meadows clearly has a flair for working with actors and for depicting the rough-and-tumble of ordinary provincial lives. If he could go just a bit deeper, the truly great Midlands movie just might surface.
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  2. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    40
    The complications are predictable, as is the resolution; what keeps the film from sinking into its own inconsequentiality is the throaty-voiced Henderson, who can make the most preposterous behavior ring absolutely true.
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  3. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Megan Lehmann
    63
    Just Brit filmmaker Shane Meadows having some fun with the conventions of the spaghetti western.
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