Frank & Lola
Paladin | Release Date: December 9, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
56
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
8
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
50
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzDec 15, 2016
Despite being played by two charismatic and more-than-capable actors, the title characters never click in the way they need to. They're too cool and vague for the volcanic story they enact. Read full review
80
We Got This CoveredBrogan MorrisDec 10, 2016
Anyone who's ever wondered how Michael Shannon would fare as a smoldering romantic lead or how Imogen Poots might handle the role of a femme fatale has their answer in Matthew Ross' engaging psycho-thriller. Read full review
50
The New York TimesManohla DargisDec 8, 2016
Frank & Lola proves more about him than her. That’s partly because of the story, partly because the writer-director Matthew Ross doesn’t have a full handle on it or his actors. Read full review
90
VarietyOwen GleibermanDec 8, 2016
It’s poised between reality and paranoid daydream, it’s about the dangerous ways that love can go wrong, and it does the thing that noir was invented to do: It sucks you in. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesSheri LindenDec 8, 2016
Ross is to be commended for taking chances on his first outing. He delivers grown-up shivers with a strong cinematic sensibility. But however suspensefully the score groans and cries, the emotional stakes dwindle with each overemphatic narrative curve. Read full review
25
ObserverRex ReedDec 8, 2016
Michael Shannon is a convincing and resourceful actor who is now too established and viable to settle for enigmatic roles in meaningless, throwaway movies with zero possibilities for commercial success like a thing called Frank & Lola. Read full review
42
IndieWireDavid EhrlichDec 8, 2016
Frank & Lola is scattershot from the start, and never makes a compelling case for why its story is being told. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyDec 7, 2016
Shannon’s intensity is the best thing Frank & Lola has going for it. And it’s almost enough to make it work. Read full review
40
Village VoiceAbby GarnettDec 7, 2016
The film's success depends upon the tension between Frank and Lola, and even this cast can't overcome what feels like an essential disconnect in the central relationship. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineChuck BowenDec 7, 2016
The film occasionally benefits from the weird energy shared between Michael Shannon and Imogen Poots. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerDec 6, 2016
In a trim 88 minutes, it manages to make Poots and Shannon an intriguing duo, then lets them revert to odd mismatch. It may be worth watching, though, for anyone who’s ever wanted to see Shannon attempt to burn holes in Justin Long with his eyes. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreNov 29, 2016
The movie unravels as its surprises become melodramatic flourishes, undercutting its tension with coincidences, lapses in motivation and head-scratching responses to situations that are pretty conventional — cut and dried — despite the lurid, Vegas/Ellis undertones. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterStephen FarberJan 29, 2016
Shannon’s performance is the main attraction of this dark character drama, but it also boasts a seductive atmosphere and some penetrating insights into the male psyche. Read full review
75
The PlaylistRodrigo PerezJan 29, 2016
As uneven as the psychodrama can be at times, one thing is clear, Ross is a major talent worth watching. He’s got an eye, a strong p.o.v., and the movie has many perceptive observations about the self-destructive perils of possessiveness, ownership, and holding on too tight. Read full review
60
Screen DailyTim GriersonJan 29, 2016
Ross and his two leads set the stage for a provocatively unsteady romance that’s initially entrancing, honouring all the uncertainty inherent in new love. But eventually, Frank & Lola succumbs to a series of progressively more implausible twists that run counter to the carefully constructed everyman that Shannon has essayed. Read full review
75
ConsequenceMichael RoffmanJan 29, 2016
Frank and Lola is an electric modern noir that thrives from indelible characters and a palatable style. Read full review
83
The Film StageEd FranklJan 29, 2016
Carried by two accomplished performance, and despite a tight 87-minute running time, this is a rich saga, bathed in atmosphere that disturbs as much as it engrosses. Read full review
80
The GuardianNigel M SmithJan 29, 2016
For a directorial debut, Ross’s film is admirably odd and hard to pin down. Read full review
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