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Undertow
Metascore
63 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 30 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 30
  3. Negative: 1 out of 30
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  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    Green takes us to that place where we keep feelings that we treasure, but are a little afraid of.
  2. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Rosenbaum
    90
    Despite a few narrative confusions, I found it pure magic.
  3. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    88
    For anyone who likes classic, offbeat American moviemaking, in the rural-thriller genre from "Moonrise" to "Macon County Jail," Undertow is one to check. Seething with violence, bleeding with lyricism, it's a poem from the junk heap, a cry from the swamp.
  4. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Stephen Hunter
    80
    The movie builds slowly to its grinding climax, and the suspense -- the standard by which a thriller must primarily be judged -- is first-rate.
  5. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    75
    Taking great artistic chances in storytelling and performance style, Green finally fulfills the promise he showed in his fine 2000 drama "George Washington" as a terrific builder of mood, atmosphere, and psychological suspense.
  6. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Rene Rodriguez
    75
    It's a dreamy Southern gothic, a la "Night of the Hunter," with an emphasis on the dreamy.
  7. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Megan Lehmann
    75
    Conforms to many of the tropes of a formula thriller but, aided by an evocative Philip Glass score and Tim Orr's beautifully naturalistic cinematography, it transcends the genre.
  8. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Steven Rea
    75
    Undertow has the plain, stark, disturbing quality that marked the original "Cape Fear" and "In Cold Blood."
  9. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    75
    Although there is violence and danger, this is less about the chase than it is about the relationship between the siblings.
  10. Premiere
    Reviewed by: Glenn Kenny
    75
    In equal parts powerful and peculiar, the film is not my favorite of Green's, but it helps solidify his position as one of the most visionary young directors around.
  11. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Don R. Lewis
    70
    Green makes you think and his films are so quiet and subtle, you almost find yourself in the film, wrapped up in the moment.
  12. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Nathan Rabin
    70
    Undertow may prove the least immediately satisfying of Green's films, but it remains an achievement, emotionally rich and rife with biblical and mythic undertones.
  13. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: J. Hoberman
    70
    However cloying, the movie creates a powerful vortex. It's surprisingly visceral-at times almost thrilling.
  14. Dallas Observer
    Reviewed by: Luke Y. Thompson
    70
    To call Undertow a '70s-style revenge movie is accurate, but those unfamiliar with Green who expect a typical genre picture may wonder why it takes so long to get to the action.
  15. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Thomas
    70
    The result is a movie that doesn't add up to the sum of its parts, yet some of those parts connect deeply anyway.
  16. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Stephen Holden
    70
    As with the 70's films of Terrence Malick, one of Undertow's producers, the more intoxicated it becomes with rural desolation and fecundity, the more deeply in touch it puts you with its characters' souls.
  17. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Kimberley Jones
    67
    Did I fall in love with Undertow? Not in the least. But I liked it alright, and amidst the mediocrity, even rot, that constitutes 98% of contemporary American movies, that'll do fine.
  18. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    67
    The truth is that Undertow is like a conventional Hollywood movie operating on half its cylinders.
  19. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Rick Groen
    63
    Green may be right to avoid the melodramatic waves of the conventional thriller. But, if so, he needs to dive a lot deeper than this -- there's just not enough under in Undertow.
  20. Empire
    Reviewed by: Anna Smith
    60
    While the quirky structure could be taken as a bold move, the story still feels frustratingly incomplete, rendering the preceding hour or so a tantalising glimpse at what could have been.
  21. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    50
    It's no go. Green and Gothic make for a clumsy fit.
  22. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jack Mathews
    50
    Undertow becomes unbearably imitative and predictable. It's a kids-in-peril B horror movie in the guise of an art film.
  23. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Carla Meyer
    50
    Loses momentum midway into the boys' journey.
  24. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    50
    It's an exercise in 1970s mood. But all the film does is conjure, channel, and allude, until there's really no movie of Green's own for an audience to grab onto.
  25. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    50
    This southern-fried mess of poetic crime-movie cliches is redeemed by standout performances.
  26. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Bill White
    50
    Despite picturesque episodes and nicely observed characters, the film lacks suspense.
  27. Variety
    Reviewed by: Scott Foundas
    50
    A deep-fried piece of Southern Gothic that wears its unpleasantness like a merit badge.
  28. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Kirk Honeycutt
    40
    The naturalistic style of the film is completely at odds with the hokey melodrama.
  29. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Ella Taylor
    40
    Undertow seems to be straining to say something at once tragic and heartwarming about fathers, sons and brothers, but I'm damned if I know what it is.
  30. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Desson Thomson
    30
    It's just sort of trying.
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User Reviews

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User Score
7.3 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 21 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 16
  3. Negative: 4 out of 16
  1. BosieB
    10
    I cannot understand the harsh negative reviews. Yeah, some of the scenes of the "Uncle Deel" could have been better but the movie belongs to the boys and I dare anyone not to be deeply touched them. Glass's score fitted like a glove. I was spellbound.… Full Review »
  2. Mornington
    5
    Not a bad movie by any stretch, and clearly the work of a talented filmmaker, but the pace was sluggish rather than thoughtful and I felt that at the end I was left more tired than breathless. Undertow may be worth seeing for the visuals, which are breathtaking, but the story and character are too thin.… Full Review »
  3. RyanF.
    2
    One of the most inane movies I've seen. Jamie Bell's performance is the only reason it gets any points at all.
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