Aloft
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: May 22, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
34
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
1
Mixed:
10
Negative:
9
Watch Now
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriMay 22, 2015
I found myself often enraptured by this sad little story. Its weird narrative of faith healing serves as an intriguing diversion from the real matter at hand — the notion that grace lies in the search for help, rather than the finding of it. Read full review
58
The PlaylistJessica KiangApr 21, 2015
Aloft and its icy landscapes and feel of gently dropping barometric pressure can only distract so far from what is essentially an overwrought melodrama that here and there tips over into heavy-handedness despite the restrained beauty of its images. Read full review
50
Portland OregonianMarc MohanJul 3, 2015
Aloft reminded me of the work of another Latin American filmmaker, Alejandro González Iñárritu, who made somber, constipated dramas such as "Babel" and "Biutiful" before loosening up and conjuring the lunatic profundity of "Birdman." Llosa has the intelligence and directing chops — Aloft looks fantastic — to do wonders, but she should take a cue from him and warm up by just chilling out. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaJun 12, 2015
Bleak and painfully earnest. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanJun 4, 2015
The characters in Aloft seem to float over their strong passions, like birds riding on columns of air, without ever alighting. I kept waiting for the sharp sting of a talon to take hold of my heart, but it never came. Read full review
50
VarietyPeter DebrugeApr 21, 2015
In the end, everything fits together rather ingeniously, though it’s clear that in orchestrating her needlessly complicated nonlinear narrative, Llosa has mistaken confusion for suspense. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesRebecca KeeganMay 21, 2015
Dreariness seems to be the filmmaker's shorthand for authenticity here. Without any realism to ground it, the movie's spiritual story line feels aloft — swirling around but never dramatically landing. Read full review
40
The New York TimesA.O. ScottMay 21, 2015
For all its brooding atmosphere and visual poeticism, the film offers a perspective on the lives of its characters that feels narrow and superficial. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsKatherine PushkarMay 21, 2015
Deep — deep! — in this impenetrable block of ice is an actual, OK story. But the patience it takes to get to it? The return on investment just isn’t there. Read full review
40
Village VoiceMichael NordineMay 19, 2015
The writer-director's ideas about our connection to the land and the many other animals roaming it may well be profound, but they're buried under layers of superfluous storytelling devices. A better title would have been Adrift. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterStephen DaltonApr 21, 2015
Strip away its gorgeous wintry landscapes and we are left with a symphony of ponderous New Age mumbo-jumbo masquerading as philosophical wisdom. Read full review
38
New York PostSara StewartMay 20, 2015
Aloft is less like a story than a dream, populated with gorgeous people and symbolism you can interpret any way you like. Read full review
38
Movie NationRoger MooreMay 20, 2015
The falcon metaphor is clumsy and ill-defined, and Aloft is never much more than a lovely, dull cheat. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineJesse CataldoMay 17, 2015
The film's images, so continually heartrending so as to never become redundant, effectively function as visual proselytizing. Read full review
33
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd May 20, 2015
What’s really been withheld, in this dreary drag of a movie, is a reason to care. Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenJun 24, 2015
Aloft’s characters exude a certain impregnability, and the story’s structure only further distances us from them. Read full review
30
The DissolveScott TobiasMay 21, 2015
There are reasons why everyone on screen looks as unhappy as they do, but Llosa puts viewers in a place where they can’t understand precisely why, so the only choice is to sit there marinating in misery and boredom. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJun 4, 2015
What makes Aloft better than dismissible is that it’s a sincere failure, not a cynical one, and the cinematography is arresting. In fact, for scattered seconds throughout the movie, Aloft is beautiful to look at. Read full review
20
TheWrapInkoo KangMay 28, 2015
Aloft is simply adrift. Read full review
20
CineVueDaniel GreenApr 21, 2015
Llosa shoots for the stars with her oblique pseudo-think piece, but unfortunately ends up dragging her latest offering down to the bottom of the coldest, darkest abyss of cod spirituality imaginable. Read full review
More From This Movie

34 Critic Reviews

4.4 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL