Diamond Men

Washington Post Desson Thomson

A great little film, dignified by a superb performance, Diamond Men is a gem.

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

Genuine, amusing and, best of all, humanly scaled and humanely oriented.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

This film is extraordinary on several counts: its knowledge of an arcane trade (Mr. Cohen ran his family's diamond business after his father died); its fondness for telling good life stories; and, above all, its superb starring performance.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

This may not have gotten much publicity, but it's a lot more engaging than most movies that have; Forster alone makes it unforgettable.

Film Threat Doug Brunell

Wow. A heist movie that is more focused on people than it is crime. An incredible cast - Robert Forster and Donnie Wahlberg. Getting to see Kristin Minter's breasts and hearing her say, "F---." Damn near a perfect movie.

The New Republic Stanley Kauffmann

The picture depends completely on those two performances (Whalberg, Forster), and the two actors come through.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

It looks and listens to its characters, curious about the unfolding mysteries of the personality. It is a treasure.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

Riding a mood that's tilted to the jazzy blues that Eddie prefers to Bobby's blasting rock on the car radio, Diamond Men is a sparkly film that's easy to love.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

Forster carries the movie with an effortless grace and professionalism, creating a character of surprising nobility who is the very opposite of the Willy Loman caricature that's been the de rigueur salesman stereotype in movies of the past 50 years.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

A very small film but a sweet one, an easygoing venture of the feel-good variety. What sets it apart is something even larger pictures often lack: an excellent performance by its star.

Slate David Edelstein

The movie has an intriguing wild card in Bess Armstrong as an ex-prostitute turned Zen masseuse. I'm not sure if she's meant to be brilliantly evolved or an idiot -- or if the actress is really good or really, really terrible. But her chemistry with Forster is terrific.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

Eddie Miller (Robert Forster), the stolid protagonist of Diamond Men, a small, finely acted slice of American life, is the sort of character the movies normally shun like the plague for lack of glamour.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

This is Forster's show, and he doesn't disappoint.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

A witty, winning inversion of the famous Arthur Miller play.

TV Guide Frank Lovece

The ever-charismatic character actor George Coe stands out as a small-town jeweler grateful for a late-life affair.

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

But its quiet, solid center is Forster's Eddie, a man who can keep his cool under pressure and, with the merest twitch of a facial muscle, reveal a capacity for change.

Chicago Tribune Robert K. Elder

Diamond Men's potential as a diamond in the rough turn out to be more "rough" than "diamond."

New York Post Lou Lumenick

After a promising start, writer-director Daniel M. Cohen pours on schmaltz straight out of the similarly themed "Diamonds," including the proverbial hookers -- with hearts of gold.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Loses its way in a crime-movie subplot and a less-than-believable love affair.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

If you're going to make a movie about men talking, shouldn't they have something important to say?