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Aurora Borealis

EMAILPRINTRegent Releasing

Aurora Borealis reviews
58
5.7 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 13 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 4 votes
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Drama

Written by: Brent Boyd

Directed by: James C.E. Burke

Release Date:
Theatrical: September 15, 2006
DVD: April 3, 2007

Running Time: 110 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: R for language

Starring Joshua Jackson, Donald Sutherland, Louise Fletcher, Juliette Lewis, Steven Pasquale, Zack Ward, and Timm Sharp

Ever since the premature death of his father, 25-year-old Minneapolis slacker Duncan (Jackson) is content with shuffling aimlessly through life, hanging out with his lifelong friends, and ditching one dead-end job after another. Duncan takes a job as a handyman in a high-rise that allows him to be near his gravely ill grandfather Ronald (Sutherland), who's more than a handful for his grandmother Ruth (Fletcher). That newfound sense of purpose, plus a budding romance with home healthcare provider Kate (Lewis), gives Duncan the motivation to take charge of his life. However, Kate isn't one to stay in the same place for too long, and Duncan is soon torn between following her to California and a new, more responsible life, and his feelings of familial obligation to an increasingly suicidal Ronald. (Regent Releasing)

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...

88

TV Guide Ken Fox

The real surprise here is Lewis, who seems to have finally hit on a role that balances her usual flakiness with smarts and an offbeat poignancy, and she delivers the strongest work of her adult career.

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70

Variety Robert Koehler

Alternately breezy and profound, pic hits enough emotional chords to connect with audiences, which will be charmed by a newly mature Joshua Jackson, a deeply aged Donald Sutherland and a friskily romantic Juliette Lewis.

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70

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

Juliette Lewis makes Aurora Borealis into a funnier, richer, more powerful film than it has any reason to be.

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67

Entertainment Weekly Gregory Kirshling

Lewis, in particular, is a charmer; it's a loss that she never became an A-lister. And Jackson is, as always, earnestness itself. The movie would be a quality guilty-gloopy pleasure if it weren't so deadly overlong.

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63

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

The latest "Dawson's Creek" alumnus to break out of his WB bonds, Joshua Jackson proves himself all grown up in this sweetly scrappy indie.

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60

The Hollywood Reporter Sheri Linden

Although it is overloaded with backstory and often tries too hard, Aurora Borealis finds a reasonable balance between romance and family drama.

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60

Village Voice Scott Foundas

Aurora Borealisulth -- yes, that title eventually comes home to roost -- doesn't offend in any way, but it's so self-consciously quaint, so unwaveringly "nice," that you nearly wish it did.

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50

Los Angeles Times Kevin Crust

Most successful in capturing the emotional elements of its story, the film relies on its excellent cast to balance out sketchily drawn characters and the unfortunate obviousness of its plot.

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50

San Francisco Chronicle Neva Chonin

True, the film doesn't need 110 minutes to tell a story this pat, but hey, in dark times, it takes longer to deliver a feel-good message.

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50

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Bill White

The script offers neither character revelations nor plot twists. It unfolds by the numbers, like the product of an amateur screenwriter's salon. Its second-hand ideas originate in movies ranging from 1960's "The Apartment" to 1997's "The Ice Storm."

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50

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

An unremarkable comedy-drama.

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50

The New York Times Nathan Lee

The fixation of independent movies on the arrested development of bourgeois dullards may have less to do with the relevance of the topic than the class of people who get to make movies. Whatever the case, James Burke directs from a screenplay by Brent Boyd.

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50

New York Post V.A. Musetto

Think you're depressed now? Wait till you see Aurora Borealis, which spends almost two hours watching Ronald Shorter, a suicidal old man, die.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 5.7 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Chad S. gave it a7:
During a pick-up hockey game, Duncan Shorter(Joshua Jackson) goes ballistic after a friend botches-up his perfect pass. The twenty-something slacker brushes up against the right epiphany when he realizes that hockey is a serious matter. After some careful thought, he'll realize it's life that's not a game, but there are indeed real winners and losers. "Aurora Borealis" tells the story of a Minneapolis native who needs to get lost in love, then get lost. His grandfather(played by Donald Sutherland) wants to die because he feels like a burden to his wife. What goes unsaid is that he's also an albatross to his grandson. Exactly what are Duncan's motivations, we wonder, as he helps Ronald(Sutherland) late in the film? Freedom, at long last, from caregiving and the onus of the past, must've crossed his mind with Kate's departure looming on the horizon. By the way, Juliette Lewis is great as the only well-adjusted, mature young person in the film; this coming from an actress known for a bevy of neurotic and sociopathic characters. "Aurora Borealis" is a feel-good movie for late bloomers.

Tova E. gave it a9:
Great acting by all the lead actors.

Ken G. gave it a5:
The problem is Jackson (who is the lead character), is the least interesting character in the movie. He's so nice, and wholesome, that he never comes across (except for the first few minutes), as the somewhat troubled guy, with personal demons and an attitude problem that the filmmakers want us to see him as. The movie also doesn't work as a love story, as I couldn't have cared less if Jackson and Lewis ended up together. The acting isn't bad, Sutherland and Lewis are pretty good, and even Jackson wasn't bad. (The problem was more the way his character was written, than with his performance)

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