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Urbania
Lions Gate Films Inc.


8.4

based on 24 reviews
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How did we calculate this?

based on 9 votes
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MPAA RATING: R for strong violent and sexua

Starring Dan Futterman, Alan Cumming, Matt Keeslar, Josh Hamilton, and Samuel Ball

Charlie (Futterman) is a guy who is recovering from the violent death of his lover. In trying to move on, he lives in a world where "urban legends" are everywhere he goes.

GENRE(S):	Suspense/Thriller
WRITTEN BY:	Daniel Reitz (also play) Jon Shear
DIRECTED BY:	Jon Shear
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: March 13, 2001 Video: March 13, 2001 Theatrical: September 15, 2000
RUNNING TIME:	103 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...

100

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

Rarely does a movie come along that captures an aspect of everyday consciousness that has not yet made it onto film.

Dallas Observer David Ehrenstein

Because of the supremely artful way Shear and Reitz have pitched the story, it reaches into places few films, gay or straight, have gone.

Chicago Tribune John Petrakis

One of those small films that will, one hopes, find a larger audience through word of mouth.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

As technically innovative as it is emotionally unsettling.

Film.com David D'Arcy

It gives the audience something serious to ponder. That's rare these days.

Variety Emanuel Levy

A darkly intriguing drama that probes the very nature of love and the lasting effects of loss.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

Such a powerful experience that it is equally effective whether you have figured out from the start where it is headed or whether its denouement comes as a complete surprise.

TNT RoughCut J. Rentilly

The journey -- long, dark, pungent, and twisted as it is -- is well worth the taking.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

There's no denying its surreal, hypnotic effect.

LA Weekly Ernest Hardy

The story of what happens when everything dies but love. It's a simple story, artfully told.

Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones

Leaves you scratching your head a bit, wondering what just happened, and worrying if maybe it could happen to you too.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

An edgy, disturbing drama.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

It plays like Scorsese's ``After Hours,'' but for higher stakes.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

Smart, psychologically complex film is an offbeat and effective tale.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Dark, morbidly funny and quite violent movie, which plays with audience members' heads in ways many people will find quite disturbing.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

A film in which barbs of wit, anger and grief continually prick at you.

Mr. Showbiz Larry Terenzi

An ambitious film, nearly an exploitative one, but its lingering effects are positive.

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

Much of this fractured drama and dark fantasy takes place inside the mind of Charlie (Futterman),

Village Voice Amy Taubin

Derails toward the end, becoming platitudinous, not to mention kitschy, but, given the Cheerios wholesomeness of most gay indies, its grief-stricken delirium is a welcome relief.

Baltimore Sun Athima Chansanchai

Designed to shock and rock the viewer with disturbing imagery, the film misses the point once too often.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

The story evokes a lot of varied emotions, but none runs more than an inch below skin deep.

TV Guide Steve Simels

If this were a more mainstream film with a shot at a wider audience, we'd probably be talking Oscar nominations for Futterman and Ball.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

At its best when exploring grieving and loss and anger, but Shear turns it into spiritual shock treatment.

San Francisco Examiner G. Allen Johnson

Quickly degenerates into a grueling piece of unpleasantness.

The average user rating for this movie is 8.4 (out of 10) based on 9 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Craig B. gave it a 2:
I'm baffled by all of the praise for this piece of junk. Throw in a gratuitous male-on-male rape scene and call it "moving"? Really!!?? There are certain shortcuts that lazy screen writers use to try and shorthand some pathos and artificially create interest in otherwise uninteresting characters, and this film trots out several cheap tricks. Why bother creating interesting characters when you can just throw in the tragic loss of a loved one? Why bother writing creative dialogue when you can just film a brutal rape? I'll give it a couple of points because I respect Alan Cummings as an actor, but sheesh...

Dets Nick gave it a 9:
A brilliant ending ties up an absorbing film that may previously feel aimless and meandering. Besides an exploitive side, this is a sad, exceptionally told, important drama!

Matthew R. gave it a 10:
Deeply moving...

Rob D. gave it a 9:
Well-acted, gorgeously shot and moving... sorry I missed it in first run, but the DVD package (with commentary and deleted scenes) is an especially worthwhile way to watch.

Sonny A. gave it a 9:
Incredible movie. I didn't know where the movie was going but the urban legends made it interesting and the last 30 minutes put it all together.

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Urbania Lions Gate Films Inc.

Urbania
Lions Gate Films Inc.