Lisa Alspector

Told from too many perspectives, the narrative puts suspense above substance, and its social consciousness seems contrived.

Has an adolescent energy and a tempered sexuality.

The force of the social criticism is diminished by contrivance and the inclusion of peripheral material.

Despite a melodramatic score that at times seems almost facetious, the movie's tone is sober and sincere, its unlikely ending persuasive.

Though passionate, doesn't pity or flatter the rank and file.

The payoff matters at least as much as the setup, and this story's secret is way too easy to guess.

This concept comedy-drama would be even better if the intercutting among households had been timed to add dramatic content rather than simply advance the subplots.

Arch yet earnest.

Insights about romance are enhanced by the novel production design, which includes puppetry, but the story's reflexivity is smug and cloying.

A realist mode that strains credibility; it's tenuous and inflexible -- and easily ruptured by the contrived irony in Jimmy McGovern's screenplay.

Grossly unimaginative.

The narrative--a complex structure of flashbacks and shifts in perspective that's part inspirational story, part courtroom drama, part character study, part exposé--never makes it seem that history is being oversimplified.

A delicate balance of fantasy and realism, caricature and character study that isn't driven primarily by its plot or even the development of its protagonist.

It's scary and hilarious, with a magical, nonrealist tone, and it emphasizes physical comedy as much as disturbing, beautifully integrated metaphors.

Inspired, self-referential animated musical.

Shtick isn't all this movie has to offer.

Jensen's use of the conventions of documentary making -- and his undermining of them in ways both bold and subtle -- seems too canny and consistent for the form. Yet the harder I try to decide whether this is a documentary or a parody, the more I wonder why it matters.

Powerful, funny romantic drama.

Maya Angelou?s very deliberate blocking of the actors charges each movement and line of dialogue with emotion, and the expressive combinations of colors and textures in the settings convey a palpable sense of the environments in which the characters undergo big but believable changes.

Deftly realist character study.

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

Scenes that should have been uproarious are weaker than many of the movie's smaller moments.

Realist fairy tale.

All the macho men who let down their guard for Blaustein can be proud of the loving deconstruction of violence-as-entertainment that resulted.

The wavering style and tone fragment the movie, undermining both characters' development, though each retains her power as a symbol.

Rodriguez's unironic directing brings out the complexity of characters painfully aware of the stereotypes they represent and allows this gripping, scary, and romantic movie to offer more than factoids about other movies the filmmakers have seen too many times.

With its persuasive special effects, gentle pace, and more expressionistic than surreal production design, this serious yet far from ponderous drama is something of a marvel.

The lush, emotional scenes are enhanced by the sound track.