Visit, The

Variety Sheri Linden

The top-notch cast never hits a false note.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

This is a film that stays with you long after the lights have gone up.

LA Weekly Paul Malcolm

Performances that are natural yet weighted with history and frequently heart-wrenching.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The movie doesn't crank up the volume with violence and jailhouse cliches, but focuses on this person and his possibilities for change.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

A spare and moving study of regret and redemption, marked with chilling truths about a life behind bars.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

The actors seem exhilarated.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

This very earnestly American prison gives off an unusually mellow European air.

The New York Times Dana Stevens

Shows so much intelligence and compassion that its tendency sometimes to overreach or underdramatize can surely be forgiven.

New York Post V.A. Musetto

Marred by sappy fantasy sequences and a sentimental finale that's out of step with most of the rest of the movie.

Washington Post Teresa Wiltz

In its quiet way, The Visit is a testament to the tenacity of the family, particularly the African American family.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

The film's touches of unconventional style interfere with its emotional effectiveness at times.

Village Voice Mark Holcomb

The last scenes contain so many moral and spiritual turnarounds that Alex (Harper) -- and the film -- are all but buried in the uplift. Harper, in a fierce, nuanced performance, deserves better.

Chicago Tribune John Petrakis

The very strong performances in this low-budget film deserve a better narrative structure to strut their stuff.

Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard

Sentenced its audience to a maudlin death.

TV Guide Ken Fox

The result is so overloaded with extra characters, tangled story lines, dance numbers, fantasies and flashbacks that the once-simple plot feels puffed-up and irritatingly self-important.

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

Unfortunately, the actors seem overqualified for their parts, delivering earnest monologues that come across as clumsy transplants from the proscenium stage.