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The Visit
Metascore
60 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 16 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
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  1. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Paul Malcolm
    80
    Performances that are natural yet weighted with history and frequently heart-wrenching.
  2. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Thomas
    80
    This is a film that stays with you long after the lights have gone up.
  3. Variety
    Reviewed by: Sheri Linden
    80
    The top-notch cast never hits a false note.
  4. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    75
    The movie doesn't crank up the volume with violence and jailhouse cliches, but focuses on this person and his possibilities for change.
  5. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    75
    The actors seem exhilarated.
  6. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Steven Rea
    75
    A spare and moving study of regret and redemption, marked with chilling truths about a life behind bars.
    All this critic's reviews
  7. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    75
    This very earnestly American prison gives off an unusually mellow European air.
  8. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Dana Stevens
    70
    Shows so much intelligence and compassion that its tendency sometimes to overreach or underdramatize can surely be forgiven.
  9. New York Post
    Reviewed by: V.A. Musetto
    63
    Marred by sappy fantasy sequences and a sentimental finale that's out of step with most of the rest of the movie.
    All this critic's reviews
  10. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Teresa Wiltz
    60
    In its quiet way, The Visit is a testament to the tenacity of the family, particularly the African American family.
  11. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: John Petrakis
    50
    The very strong performances in this low-budget film deserve a better narrative structure to strut their stuff.
    All this critic's reviews
  12. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    50
    The film's touches of unconventional style interfere with its emotional effectiveness at times.
  13. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Mark Holcomb
    50
    The last scenes contain so many moral and spiritual turnarounds that Alex (Harper) -- and the film -- are all but buried in the uplift. Harper, in a fierce, nuanced performance, deserves better.
  14. Mr. Showbiz
    Reviewed by: Kevin Maynard
    48
    Sentenced its audience to a maudlin death.
  15. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    40
    The result is so overloaded with extra characters, tangled story lines, dance numbers, fantasies and flashbacks that the once-simple plot feels puffed-up and irritatingly self-important.
  16. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Michael O'Sullivan
    40
    Unfortunately, the actors seem overqualified for their parts, delivering earnest monologues that come across as clumsy transplants from the proscenium stage.
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