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All the Little Animals
Mixed or average reviews
Based on 17 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 8 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Suspense/Thriller
Written by:
Walker Hamilton (novel)
Eski Thomas
Directed by: Jeremy Thomas
Release Date:
Theatrical: September 3, 1999
DVD: August 19, 2003
Running Time: 112 minutes, Color
Origin: UK
Summary
RATING: R for some violence
Starring John Hurt, Christian Bale, Daniel Benzali, and James Faulkner
Fleeing from his evil stepfather, a mentally challenged young man (Bale) escapes to the English countryside. In his travels, he befriends an eccentric old man (Hurt) who spends his days burying animals killed by speeding motorists.
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Falls so far outside our ordinary story expectations it may frustrate some viewers.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
Beautifully produced: a moving film with a fascinating story and exemplary acting.
Read Full Review >Newsweek Andrea C. Basora
Thomas is supported in his first directorial endeavor by a truly spectacular cast.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
Where the movie falters is in sustaining the tricky balance between pastoral life lessons and creepy suspense.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Stephen Holden
Would seem hokey if it didn't have powerful, extraordinary central performances and cinematography that lends the English landscape around Cornwall a mythical cast.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
It's a movie brimming with good intentions, solid production values and searing performances. However, it never quite clicks into place with any real satisfaction.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Gene Seymour
There's something plodding and uncomfortably strident about Little Animals that keeps the audience from sharing, much less understanding, Bobby's enchantment.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
This moody film is ravishingly beautiful to look at -- but the story's fairy tale atmosphere doesn't entirely mesh with its psychological underpinnings.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Curtis Morgan
The effort is earnest, but the plot turns more and more implausible.
Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
Fantasy-style plot doesn't mesh easily with the unsettling psychological themes woven through it.
Read Full Review >Film.com John Hartl
Simplistic on one level, indecipherable on another, it's a most peculiar muddle.
Read Full Review >New York Post Jonathan Foreman
A surprisingly nasty fable about a particularly silly, very English brand of animal-rights extremism.
Read Full Review >Mr. Showbiz Michael Atkinson
Hamilton's quasi-Luddite tale doesn't make a coherent movie under the best of circumstances, and these were, apparently, something substantially less than that.
What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.1 (out of 10) based on 8 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Sue S. gave it a9:
This movie may not be believable, but it is more like a fairy tale in the horrible original sense. In addition to an interesting story, the acting is excellent as is the cinematograpy and music.
[Anonymous] gave it a9:
Beautiful and a great performance from Christian Bale
Loved this movie. Beautiful camera work, and great performances by Bale and Hurt.
[Anonymous] gave it a10:
GREAT!
James M. gave it a 1:
Ugh! Roadkill. Caricatures in a good vs. evil fable that is completely outlandish.
