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41 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 25 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 25
  3. Negative: 9 out of 25
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  1. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Diana Abu-Jaber
    83
    Possesses the open-ended, continual off-kilterness of Shepard theater.
  2. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    70
    This stylized tale of guilt and retribution is a surprisingly sleek and affecting drama.
  3. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Chuck Wilson
    70
    Demands full attention, if only for the pleasure of watching great actors mine Shepard's harsh, beautiful language for all it's worth.
  4. Variety
    Reviewed by: Dennis Harvey
    70
    An unbeatable cast lends satisfying emotional texture.
  5. TNT RoughCut
    Reviewed by: Spencer H. Abbott
    70
    Many may find the ultimate drive behind the main characters (especially Nolte's) to be a misguided, feeble and disappointing payoff at best.
    All this publication's reviews
  6. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    63
    A somewhat bewildering and unsatisfying film that nevertheless contains more inspired moments and brilliant scenes than many movies we call successes.
  7. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Charles Taylor
    60
    Warchus seems as at ease with the complexity of the style as he is with directing actors.
  8. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jack Mathews
    50
    Star-packed fiasco.
  9. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Edward Guthmann
    50
    A confounding and unsatisfying film.
  10. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Staff [Not Credited]
    50
    It's an awkward jumble whose only value is as a forum for movie junkies to track the progress of half-a-dozen screen careers at once.
  11. Dallas Observer
    Reviewed by: Jean Oppenheimer
    50
    Proves only intermittently engaging as its twisted plot loses energy and becomes confusing in the latter half.
  12. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Thomas
    50
    While it's entertaining, it's not as persuasive as it needs to be to succeed fully.
  13. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Stephen Holden
    50
    Far from being a typical Hollywood desecration of a difficult play, it stays true to the work's quirky, renegade spirit.
  14. Time
    Reviewed by: Richard Schickel
    50
    Curiously, if fitfully, intriguing.
  15. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Paula Nechak
    42
    As has been the case with most of Shepard's plays, transfer to the movies spells doom.
  16. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    40
    A promise unfulfilled.
    All this critic's reviews
  17. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    38
    A long slog through perplexities and complexities.
  18. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Rene Rodriguez
    38
    Feels static and constricted, its intensity dulled by overreliance on dialogue.
  19. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    38
    A non-starter.
  20. Mr. Showbiz
    Reviewed by: Richard T. Jameson
    32
    The switch of medium hasn't reinvigorated the soil or resulted in a film with any compelling reason for being.
  21. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Michael Atkinson
    30
    A decked-out mediocrity with a high-octane cast.
  22. Charlotte Observer
    Reviewed by: Lawrence Toppman
    25
    Atmosphere goes only so far in a story where the major characters fade from memory.
  23. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    25
    Stumbling adaptation of a Sam Shepard play about men, horses, chance, and lies.
  24. Film.com
    Reviewed by: Gemma Files
    20
    Tired, overcomplicated mix of macho bullshit.
  25. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Rosenbaum
    10
    An extravagant waste of resources.
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