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Assassination Tango
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corporation / United Artists
MPAA RATING: R for language and some violence
Starring
Robert Duvall,
Rubén Blades,
Kathy Baker,
Luciana Pedraza,
Julio Oscar Mechoso,
James Keane,
Frank Gio,
and
Katherine Micheaux Miller
From acclaimed actor, writer, and director Robert Duvall comes Assassination Tango, a complex thriller, fascinating character study, and provocative look at the intoxicating world of Argentine tango. (United Artists)
| GENRE(S): |
Suspense/Thriller
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Robert Duvall
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Robert Duvall
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: December 9, 2003
Video: December 9, 2003
Theatrical: March 28, 2003
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
114 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
USA |
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...
91
Entertainment Weekly
Owen Gleiberman
Acting doesn't get more personal, or much greater.
80
Los Angeles Times
Manohla Dargis
A wonderfully eccentric piece of filmmaking -- to demand it cohere to formula would be to miss the point.
75
Chicago Tribune
Michael Wilmington
The movie is an odd mix of tones and styles, and the thriller plot is casually introduced, shoved aside and reintroduced. But, like all Duvall's work, Assassination Tango breathes with humanity.
75
Philadelphia Inquirer
Steven Rea
A wonderfully crafted, smartly acted study of a complex old coot.
75
ReelViews
James Berardinelli
Like "The Apostle," it exists off the beaten path and will not satisfy mainstream viewers. Yet, for those who do not demand a firm adherence to formulas and genre-driven expectations, this movie offers the chance to see something a little different.
75
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
The movie is not quite successful. It is too secretive about its heart.
75
USA Today
Mike Clark
There isn't any kind of dance you can compare to Robert Duvall's latest as an actor/director, though a slo-mo minuet might come close.
75
Christian Science Monitor
David Sterritt
The willingness to blend professionals and nonprofessionals is Duvall's most interesting directorial trademark. Most commercial filmmakers hesitate to use this technique, but he doesn't see it as risky.
70
Chicago Reader
Jonathan Rosenbaum
The thriller plot, while serviceable, registers as somewhat gratuitous, but the Buenos Aires locations are nicely used.
67
Portland Oregonian
Shawn Levy
Disconnected and even disoriented, Assassination Tango is an atmosphere in search of a reason.
63
Boston Globe
Ty Burr
Since its maker is one of the least vain of Hollywood actors, it's one that is worthy of indulgence and respect.
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Jennie Punter
Assassination Tango is about one commanding performance, fascinating to watch but not strong enough to redeem the muddled story line on which it hangs.
50
Rolling Stone
Peter Travers
Duvall missteps in trying to mesh suspense with a love story that also involves the woman (Kathy Baker) John J. lives with and her young daughter (Katherine Micheaux Miller), on whom he disturbingly dotes.
50
The New York Times
Stephen Holden
If Mr. Duvall's finely textured performance is a testament to the power of good screen acting to lift a film above the mundane, the movie's many irritating tics demonstrate that he is much more at home in front of the camera than behind it.
50
San Francisco Chronicle
Mick LaSalle
At heart, ridiculous -- ludicrous in its conception and silly in its spectacle.
50
New York Daily News
Elizabeth Weitzman
The story line is frustratingly haphazard, spreading out in several directions without ever focusing on one.
50
LA Weekly
Ella Taylor
The plot is slow and absurdly contrived, and if you're looking for a thriller, look elsewhere. If you love dance movies, Assassination Tango is worth a go.
50
Village Voice
Michael Atkinson
Dramatically lopsided, Assassination Tango is a spontaneous life-slice in which John J. (standing in for Duvall) fumbles like a besotted granddad toward empathic connections. That it doesn't "work" is a measure of its sincerity.
50
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Nathan Rabin
A supremely unhurried filmmaker, Duvall lets the story meander sleepily en route to a conclusion as ho-hum as everything preceding it.
50
Wall Street Journal
Joe Morgenstern
An odd little thriller that celebrates, in order of importance, Mr. Duvall, tango and his real-life significant other, Luciana Pedraza, who makes her attractive debut as a screen actress and, yes, tango dancer.
50
New York Post
Lou Lumenick
The most interesting parts of the movie are the long, sexy and well-staged dance sequences, some of them involving a very nimble Duvall.
50
Film Threat
Merle Bertrand
With its clumsy storytelling and lack of someone to filter Duvall's gushiness about the subject matter, Assassination Tango winds up shooting itself in its own dancing feet.
50
Miami Herald
Connie Ogle
Assassination Tango offers little heat. In dancing with death, Duvall stumbles a few too many times.
42
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
William Arnold
As a thriller it's dull and incomprehensible; as a romance it's empty and emotionally uninvolving; and as a character study it's strangely repulsive.
40
TV Guide
Maitland McDonagh
Duvall at his worst is still an accomplished performer; Pedraza is a modern-day Ali McGraw, lithe and beautiful but no kind of actress. For all her fluidity on the dance floor, she's a dead weight who drags the film down.
30
Variety
David Stratton
On just about every level -- as a thriller, as a romance and as a character study of a complicated man nearing the end of his professional life -- the film fails, and the meandering, sub-Cassavetes approach is likely to be a turnoff for all but the most indulgent viewers.
30
Dallas Observer
Luke Y. Thompson
Assassination Tango is Duvall's fourth, yet it still feels like a first film; worse yet, it feels like a waste of an undeniably great actor.
30
Washington Post
Stephen Hunter
Duvall is a great actor in the homestretch of a great career; it's hard to hold this trifle against him, and certainly nobody will.
30
The New Republic
Stanley Kauffmann
A series of disconnected scenes alternating between two story lines, neither of which is cogent or concluded. The picture is tinged with the irrational.
30
Washington Post
Michael O'Sullivan
Someone forgot to remind Duvall to write an ending.
 The average user rating for this movie is 9.0 (out of 10) based on 1 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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