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Once in the Life

EMAILPRINTLions Gate Films

Once in the Life reviews
52
N/A User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 14 critic reviews
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Based on 0 votes
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Drama

Written by: Laurence Fishburne (also play Riff Raff)

Directed by: Laurence Fishburne

Release Date:
Theatrical: October 27, 2000
DVD: March 27, 2001

Running Time: 110 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: R for pervasive languge, strong violence and some drug content

Starring Laurence Fishburne, Gregory Hines, and Annabella Sciorra

A gritty drama centered around brotherhood and friendship, Once in the Life is a realistic depiction of how every day choices affect our path in life. (Lions Gate Films)

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...

80

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

Fishburne excels in his triple-threat roles as actor, director and adapter of his own play, and his cast glows under his direction.

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75

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Showcases a trio of terrific performances.

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70

LA Weekly F. X. Feeney

May lack any transcendent point that would make it exceptional, but it is certainly a worthy start, and worth catching.

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68

Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard

Has a credibly gritty texture, thanks in large part to Fishburne's generosity with his fellow actors.

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63

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Basically it's an acting exercise - a one-set rendition of that old stage and movie standby, the ex-convict struggling to go straight who's tempted to attempt one last score.

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63

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

Strong, hard, dirty, funny, moving atmospheric and laced with scabrously musical street dialogue.

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50

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

As urban gangster drama, Once in the Life is way below mundane, and Fishburne's direction exceeds the rookie jitters.

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50

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The movie remains an actor's exercise--too much dialogue, too much time in the room, too much happening offstage, or in the past, or in memory, or in imagination.

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50

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

If Laurence Fishburne could only have harnessed his fierce performance to drive his directoral debut, Once in the Life might have made something memorable of the done-to-death tale of small-time crooks on the run after a heist gone wrong.

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50

Village Voice Michael Atkinson

While the line-readings are often dead-on, Fishburne's movie suffers from the usual one-room claustrophobia and Mametian repetitions.

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50

Variety Robert Koehler

A film that ultimately feels stagebound and excessively talky, but which showcases an exceptional performance.

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40

TV Guide Ken Fox

The good news is that Fishburne also stars, and has recruited a talented group of actors to flesh out the cast; the bad news is that no one seems to have been on hand to help out with the rest of film.

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40

Film.com Henry Cabot Beck

Doesn't have a lot to offer that hasn't been done better -- and worse -- in hundreds of ghetto-sink shoot-em-ups.

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40

The New York Times Dana Stevens

(Fishburne's) performance here, witty and profane, vulnerable and strutting, nearly holds the movie together.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 0.0 (out of 10) based on 0 User Votes

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

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