Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: December 25, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
46
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 41 Critic Reviews
Positive:
19
Mixed:
13
Negative:
9
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Boxoffice MagazinePete HammondDec 20, 2011
It's an emotional powerhouse of a film, an unforgettable and rewarding motion picture experience. Read full review
88
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliDec 22, 2011
Director Stephen Daldry has fashioned an emotionally powerful cinematic testimony about that horrific late summer day. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyDec 18, 2011
Best of all, von Sydow is absolutely wonderful, with the great veteran actor clearly relishing this very unusual role as he darts, skulks and, in a stealthy way, mugs across town. Without saying a thing, he dominates the middle part of the movie. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeWesley MorrisJan 19, 2012
So all the handsome shots that turn the city into a toyland and all the superb editing and vibrant art direction - all the formal tricks Daldry uses to whip you up and work you over - risk being too much. After 45 minutes, it can feel like junk on a sundae. But the movie has a human coup. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie RickeyJan 19, 2012
In supporting roles, Bullock and Hanks deliver performances that are low-key and perfectly scaled. Viola Davis and Jeffrey Wright are, likewise, excellent as a couple Oskar meets on his reconnaissance expedition. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzJan 18, 2012
Luckily, Horn is so good -- as is Max von Sydow, in a wordless role -- that the film resonates in spite of the tear-jerking strings Daldry pulls. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinDec 26, 2011
But the question hangs: Does this artificial, three-hankie scenario justify its 9/11 appropriations? Dry your eyes and decide for yourself. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyDec 26, 2011
Director Stephen Daldry has taken great care in looking at it through the eyes of a precocious New York City boy in a film filled with both sentiment and substance. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianShawn LevyJan 19, 2012
The quality of the craft at the best moments of the film is undeniable. But it depends, finally, to how well you can embrace a young man named Horn -- a terrific gamble for a film and a subject of such size. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesJan 19, 2012
As a portrait of what happens to a family when its glue disappears, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close wrung a bucket of tears out of me. Read full review
67
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerDec 26, 2011
Daldry and his screenwriter Eric Roth make the mistake of showing bodies falling from the Twin Towers – it's a mistake because its graphic power seems more exploitative than cathartic – but they otherwise thankfully refrain from pulling out all the stops. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumDec 20, 2011
A polarizing load of quirkiness in Extremely Loud gunks up (at least for this hometown mourner; your results may vary) what is at heart a piercing story. Read full review
63
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottJan 20, 2012
All along, though, I was struck by an even stronger feeling, that I was sitting in on somebody else's therapy session. That's not a comfortable feeling -- and that makes Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close considerably less rewarding than it should be. Read full review
63
Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanJan 19, 2012
He (Horn) gets so deeply into the whirling mind of Oskar Schell, dominating every scene he's in – which is almost every scene, period – that he lifts the movie out of the realm of "Forrest Gump"-like emotional manipulation. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertJan 18, 2012
No movie has ever been able to provide a catharsis for the Holocaust, and I suspect none will ever be able to provide one for 9/11. Such subjects overwhelm art. Read full review
63
Rolling StonePeter TraversDec 29, 2011
Solidly crafted, impeccably acted and self-important in the way that Oscar loves, Extremely Loud is also incredibly close to exploitation. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenDec 26, 2011
Yet these are precisely the sort of pictures that divide audiences over a central question: Are those strings being honestly played or just shamefully pulled? Of course, the answer determines whether you feel moved or merely manipulated. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia PuigDec 22, 2011
In Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, director Stephen Daldry must walk a tricky line between poignancy and pathos. He occasionally slips into maudlin turf. Read full review
63
ObserverRex ReedDec 20, 2011
Certainly not a bad movie, but a disappointing one. It knocks itself out trying to break your heart, but it's too starched and blow-dried for its own good. Maybe if it had manipulated me less, it would have moved me more. Read full review
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