I Smile Back
Broad Green Pictures | Release Date: October 23, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
59
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
11
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
The PlaylistKatie WalshFeb 1, 2015
Silverman is completely riveting as she tries and flails to do right, and her physical performance is remarkable: a change in her gait or expression signals the switch in her personality from human to addict. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperNov 5, 2015
Director Adam Salky wisely allows the writing and the performances to do the heavy lifting, using his camera in a decidedly low-key, indie style without drawing too much attention to stylistic flourishes. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleNov 5, 2015
The movie’s intelligent respect for that which is unknowable allows it to cover an enormous swath of ground in just 85 minutes. Sarah Silverman is very good in I Smile Back, and the movie is even better. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsNov 5, 2015
While it's a cliche to praise a performance requiring some harsh, fairly explicit on-screen behavior and interactions, Silverman's doing the opposite of grandstanding here. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversOct 22, 2015
Silverman, digging so deep into her character that we can feel her nerve endings, is like nothing we've seen before. She's fierce and unerring. No showing off; she just is. This is acting of the highest caliber. Read full review
70
Village VoiceStephanie ZacharekOct 20, 2015
Silverman has taken serious, or at least semi-serious, roles before, but she's never had a part that demanded so much of her. She has been open about her own battles with depression, but what makes her turn here work is that it isn't nakedly expressive. Read full review
70
VarietyScott FoundasFeb 1, 2015
What propels the film forcefully along is Silverman, who pulls us down so deeply inside Laney’s sickness that everything else seems to fade away (much as it does in the character’s own life). Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyOct 22, 2015
It’s 85 minutes of grim abyss-gazing with no hope of salvation. If Silverman’s going to bare her soul this nakedly, she deserves a better film to do it in. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesSheri LindenOct 22, 2015
Without pandering to audience sympathy, Silverman's dark shadings lend something unexpected and real to the role. Read full review
60
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisOct 22, 2015
Sarah Silverman burns through the indie drama “I Smile Back” without making the slightest move to gain our sympathy. Read full review
60
Time OutJoshua RothkopfOct 20, 2015
Based on Amy Koppelman’s 2008 novel, I Smile Back can’t shake its slightly tired structural similarities to other drug dramas, and there’s an obvious imbalance between Silverman’s mighty commitment and the movie around her. Read full review
60
The GuardianJordan HoffmanSep 11, 2015
This is a case of good acting saving a movie from its own poor choices. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy BurrNov 5, 2015
Sarah Silverman is far and away the best part of I Smile Back, a strained entry in the Mad Housewife genre. Read full review
50
Washington PostAnn HornadayOct 29, 2015
Although the plot is painfully familiar — and not particularly edifying, compared with similar narratives that have gone before — the novelty here is Silverman, who doesn’t exactly erase her comic persona so much as bring to the surface an inherent darkness that has always lurked in the shadows. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinOct 23, 2015
The movie improves on Koppelman’s ungainly novel but is generally dreary and light on insight. Director Adam Salky steers clear of the usual addiction-movie clichés, but he doesn’t have anything to replace them with, so it’s as if all the connective tissue is gone. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comChristy LemireOct 23, 2015
Individual scenes can be tense but the arc as a whole lacks momentum. I Smile Back should have been devastating. Silverman is willing to take you there. What it ends up being is frustrating. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Oct 21, 2015
Silverman tackles the role with total conviction, which should come as no surprise to anyone who saw her play a similarly unhinged character in "Take This Waltz" — or, for that matter, anyone who’s seen her perform live. Read full review
50
HitfixGregory EllwoodFeb 1, 2015
No one who sees I Smile Back will question if Silverman was right for the role, they will simply question whether this was a story that needed to be told in the first place. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyFeb 1, 2015
Despite a number of trenchant scenes and some startling depictions of sexual degradation, the film has little that's particularly original or enlightening to say about living with a chemical, genetic or emotional imbalance, making its primary function as a showcase for the lead actress to stretch her range. Read full review
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