Evergreen
Evergreen Films Inc. | Release Date: September 10, 2004 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
45
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
10
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
It's a rare film that's about social class in American life, and Bellingham writer-director Enid Zentelis explores its hidden structure and silent barriers in a novel, subtle way that makes its points without hitting us over the head with them. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterDuane Byrge
Told with a tender vigor, the film explores relationships on a number of levels. It will ring true with mature teenagers of all classes. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
Enid Zentelis' affecting and intimate Evergreen deals with family life and coming of age and is the kind of small, deeply personal American film that rarely surfaces even in art theaters these days. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
A poignant film punctuated with clumsy moments and a resolution that occurs far too abruptly. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy Burr
An earnest, simplistic, affecting slice of low-watt indie filmmaking that goes where few American movies bother: below the poverty line. Read full review
50
Village VoiceEd Park
Though the acting is tentative at times, with performances not quite landing on the same page, Evergreen is a compassionate slice of Pacific Northwest misery. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneAllison Benedikt
The entire film is poorly lit, and the melancholy music, much of it from the wonderful Wilco spin-off band Autumn Defense, gives us the sense that things are getting heavy. But in the end, we observe more than feel. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
It's ultimately hamstrung by storytelling that seems both underdeveloped and overdetermined. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineAngel Cohn
While the film has striking moments, it feels padded with events that seem freighted with narrative weight but end up not mattering at all to the story. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleWalter Addiego
As drama it's thin stuff. Aiming for simplicity, it ends up simplistic. Read full review
50
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
A painfully honest film, yet it's also painfully slow, drawn-out and simplistic in too many spots. Read full review
50
Dallas ObserverJean Oppenheimer
The actors are capable, but the direction feels stilted, the pacing sluggish, and the story obvious. The film plays like an ABC after-school special. Read full review
40
VarietyDavid Rooney
Land gives the drama some poignancy, revealing the pain, anger, envy and longing of a girl burdened by life's imbalances. But her character exists in a vacuum, surrounded by stock figures and unconvincing actors. Read full review
40
The A.V. ClubNoel Murray
Evergreen suffers from creeping indie-itis, epitomized by the low-light digital video and droning electric-guitar soundtrack, but its biggest weakness lies in Zentelis' apparent fear of surprise. Read full review
40
The New York TimesNed Martel
Directed by the first-timer Enid Zentelis, Evergreen seems waterlogged with rainy-day imagery and somber moods. Read full review
38
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
An unfortunate collision of earnest coming-of-age cliches and off-key acting, Evergreen almost, and certainly unintentionally, presents itself as parody. Read full review
30
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
There are a couple of good things about the film, chief among which is Land's naturalistic performance. But the overall sense of it, heightened by a folk-guitar score so spare it feels like part of the soundtrack is missing, is not one of poignant minimalism but emptiness. Read full review
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