Frontera
Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: September 5, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
58
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 13 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
8
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Village VoiceStephanie ZacharekSep 2, 2014
Berry isn't afraid to use melodrama as a tool to highlight injustice. It's his very un-flashiness that makes Frontera effective. Read full review
75
USA TodayClaudia PuigSep 4, 2014
Peña is a standout, and Longoria is a revelation as the vulnerable, pregnant Paulina. Hers is a decidedly un-glamorous part and Longoria compellingly fleshes out an under-written role. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comChristy LemireSep 5, 2014
A well-cast, well-made, well-acted drama that you will probably forget about soon after you’ve seen it. Read full review
63
New York PostLou LumenickSep 3, 2014
Michael Berry’s Frontera offers an unsparing look at the plight of illegal immigrants, even if the ending seems too patly convenient. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineDavid Lee DallasSep 1, 2014
By turns abrasive and stately, sermonic and impartial, plot-heavy and meandering, often within seconds of each other. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeySep 4, 2014
In trying to create a balanced portrait of the conflicts and the ordinary people affected by them, director Michael Berry, who co-wrote the screenplay with Luis Moulinet III, chips away at the authenticity and intensity that an issue-driven film like this sorely needs. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierSep 4, 2014
The modern, gritty Western Frontera takes a lot of the clichés and delicately upends them to tell a tale about undocumented immigrants. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzSep 4, 2014
The intentions are solid here, but the execution is not... But the actors are compelling, and the issue is, of course, always worth discussion. It's not a great movie, but, if nothing else, Frontera is worthwhile on those fronts. Read full review
60
Time OutKeith UhlichSep 3, 2014
Ed Harris is a performer made for Westerns, and he’s perfectly utilized in debuting director Michael Berry’s middling if still very watchable modern-day oater as Roy. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenSep 2, 2014
At once understated and slightly pulpy, the film comes down squarely on the side of compassion. It’s no polemic, but neither is it as character-driven as it aims to be. Read full review
60
The DissolveAndrew LapinAug 18, 2014
Before the hokey third act, there’s much to like about Michael Berry’s border-crossing drama Frontera. Read full review
50
The New York TimesStephen HoldenSep 4, 2014
Frontera settles into a shallow, unconvincing drama with two heroes. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerSep 3, 2014
The complexities of those people are diluted in a movie that’s not quite a functional ensemble but not intimate enough to qualify as a character study. Read full review
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