Once Upon a Time in the Midlands

Variety Derek Elley

Marvelously involving family saga.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

It evokes the atmosphere of a Sergio Leone Western, sneaking up under the movie's human comedy and adding a smile.

San Francisco Chronicle Carla Meyer

Charming family story.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

Always predictable in its outcome, but it still retains a certain charm, mostly because of Meadows's cheerful sympathy and affection for his motley crew of characters.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

Sharply drawn and well-acted.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

What really separates "Midlands" from Leone's desiccated, terse genre work is Mr. Meadows's doting attention to his characters' decency. It gives a demonstrative bittersweetness to a likable but small story.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

There are instances when the filmmaker tries for Western iconography and settles for ''Full Monty'' ingratiation.

New York Post Megan Lehmann

Just Brit filmmaker Shane Meadows having some fun with the conventions of the spaghetti western.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

Pure bangers-and-mash realism: a spotty yet ingratiating working-class farce that suggests a Mike Leigh movie with opera buffa tendencies.

Chicago Tribune Loren King

Meadows clearly has a flair for working with actors and for depicting the rough-and-tumble of ordinary provincial lives. If he could go just a bit deeper, the truly great Midlands movie just might surface.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Stephen Cole

The film's best players can all be found in the supporting cast.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

Often seems like a Mike Leigh movie viewed in a fun-house mirror.

Village Voice Jessica Winter

There are pages missing from this fable: Meadows reports that his financiers asked him to cut one-quarter of his original script just before production began, and his fondness for long takes sits uneasily beside the apparent gaps in the narrative.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

It's an interesting experiment that doesn't quite work.

Slate David Edelstein

The sheer novelty of the enterprise is probably why Once Upon a Time in the Midlands has gotten so many rave reviews when it's actually sort of … middling.

Dallas Observer Gregory Weinkauf

This movie's just so-so, but at its heart lies a true leading lady.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

The story, which feels more like a sprawl of television episodes than a film, is a little tedious to sit through.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Crust

It's a compelling and ambitious idea, but one that misfires because of its underwhelming characters and slack storytelling.

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

A movie saved by great acting.

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

Midlands finds some measure of success in its use of regular, real-looking people -- as opposed to the oddly glamorous characters who turn up in most romantic comedies -- but it's as though the writer used up all the personality traits before he got to Shirley.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

In the end, Meadows' film lacks the bite it needs to make us care about this oddball trio, endearing though they are.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

The complications are predictable, as is the resolution; what keeps the film from sinking into its own inconsequentiality is the throaty-voiced Henderson, who can make the most preposterous behavior ring absolutely true.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

After 45 minutes of incomparable boredom, the movie gets slightly better when it stops reaching for cheap yuks and lets the actors do what they do well.