God's Pocket

Name: God's Pocket
Genre: Drama
Released: May 9, 2014
Duration: 88 min
Rating: 51
Cast: Caleb Landry Jones, Christina Hendricks, John Turturro, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Richard Jenkins

2014

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 19 Ratings

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5.4	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 19 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

IFC Films | Release Date: May 9, 2014 | R

Starring: Caleb Landry Jones, Christina Hendricks, John Turturro, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Richard Jenkins

Summary: In the gritty, blue-collar neighborhood of God's Pocket, Mickey Scarpato's crazy stepson, Leon, is killed in a construction “accident,” and Mickey quickly tries to bury the bad news with the body. But when a local columnist comes sniffing around for the truth, things go from bad to worse. Mickey finds himself stuck in a life-and-deathIn the gritty, blue-collar neighborhood of God's Pocket, Mickey Scarpato's crazy stepson, Leon, is killed in a construction “accident,” and Mickey quickly tries to bury the bad news with the body. But when a local columnist comes sniffing around for the truth, things go from bad to worse. Mickey finds himself stuck in a life-and-death struggle compounded by a body he can't bury, a wife he can't please, and a debt he can't pay. [IFC Films]… Expand

Director: John Slattery

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: R

Runtime: 88 min

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Critic Reviews

Richard Roeper

May 15, 2014

While the subject matter is often bleak, this isn’t a depressing journey. Seeing great actors at the top of their game working with such rich material is never a downer. Read full review

David Edelstein

May 9, 2014

Slattery adapted the book with Alex Metcalf and gets the tone just right. The film is damnably amusing. Read full review

Mike D'Angelo

May 8, 2014

Because the actors are uniformly strong, though, and because the neighborhood itself provides such a credible context, Slattery manages to create the impression of an immense backstory that informs every interaction, making any sketchiness seem like naturalism rather than a failure of imagination. Read full review

Betsy Sharkey

May 8, 2014

The script, written by director John Slattery and Alex Metcalf, drifts too quickly into blue-collar cliches, leaving its interesting collection of characters only half-drawn at best. Read full review

Peter Hartlaub

May 15, 2014

Many of the individual scenes are compelling, with a gritty tension that recalls "The Wire" and other good television. But too many of the attempts at "The Sopranos"-style comic drama fail. Read full review

The Playlist Cory Everett

Apr 18, 2014

The film is almost unrepentantly nasty towards its characters. Read full review

The Telegraph Amber Wilkinson

Apr 18, 2014

We are encouraged to find these people stupidly brutal or comedic without being given the slightest idea as to why they might be that way. Read full review

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User Reviews

hd1978

Aug 10, 2014

Some reviews have suggested that the plot is weak. It is true that nothing much happens, but that is the point; nothing much happens in God's Pocket. The plot is really just a vehicle for character exploration, but does provide some irresistible black comedy. The real beauty of the film liesSome reviews have suggested that the plot is weak. It is true that nothing much happens, but that is the point; nothing much happens in God's Pocket. The plot is really just a vehicle for character exploration, but does provide some irresistible black comedy. The real beauty of the film lies in the evocation of a particular time and place, and in the study of the characters, which is compelling in itself. This is one of Philip Seymour Hoffman's final films, and he was quietly brilliant, to the extent that I couldn't imagine the film working with anyone else in the lead. At forty-six, he was probably only halfway through his career, and it is very sad to think of all the wonderful films he was yet to make.… Expand