Go for Sisters
Variance Films | Release Date: November 8, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
59
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
13
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Chicago Sun-TimesBill StametsDec 12, 2013
This buddy/road film builds tension with its missing person quest in a border-crossing underworld. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezDec 12, 2013
Go for Sisters is minor Sayles, and the movie occasionally meanders. But the characters stay with you, particularly Bernice and Fontayne, whose relationship is beautifully transformed over the course of the film. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzNov 8, 2013
The film's plot is articulated cleanly, if a bit too plainly at times, but as is so often the case in Sayles' movies, that's not where the director's interest lies. Go for Sisters lacks the epic quilt qualities of such sprawling Sayles pictures as "Lone Star" or "City of Hope," but this seems more a matter of intent than evidence of any sort of failure of vision. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversNov 7, 2013
With the help of Hamilton, Ross and Olmos, sublime actors who radiate grit and grace, Sayles has made Go for Sisters a movie that stays inside your head long after you see it. It's a keeper. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzDec 13, 2013
It’s too straightforward, at least in terms of what we’ve come to expect from Sayles. Read full review
70
The DissolveNoel MurrayNov 6, 2013
John Sayles’ Go For Sisters is his best film in more than a decade, and feels like one he could’ve made in the 1980s. It’s a small picture, simply presented, and exists outside of current trends—which isn’t always to its benefit. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeNov 2, 2013
A return to form for John Sayles. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianMarc MohanDec 20, 2013
Sayles has always had a gift for female characters, and Go for Sisters features a couple of good ones. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenDec 4, 2013
Go for Sisters is writer/director Sayles’ best film in a number of years, and since this icon of the American independent cinema can always be counted on to deliver maverick work, his latest alternative to the mainstream is welcome indeed. Read full review
63
New York PostSara StewartNov 7, 2013
The element that really makes it work — when it does, which is not always — is Edward James Olmos, playing to perfection a weary retired police detective. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesSheri LindenNov 14, 2013
It's a plot that never takes hold, a mystery devoid of suspense... But the actors' unforced chemistry defies the artifice. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNov 7, 2013
It’s Ross, however, who really makes a lasting impact. Someone should snap her up for a series — and soon. Read full review
60
Time OutDavid FearNov 7, 2013
The leads’ chemistry and a wonderful pulp weariness that feels straight out of, say, George Pelecanos’s novels makes up for a lot, yet despite the class-conscious genre pleasures, independent cinema’s foremost Zinn master feels slightly off his game. Read full review
60
Film.comJordan HoffmanNov 7, 2013
Go For Sisters is something of a frustration. It’s the least interesting crime caper ever, and there are fascinating characters forced to go through the motions as if any of us could possibly care. Read full review
60
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlNov 5, 2013
It's not bad, but it feels rote, as if the film's events are just an excuse for us to hang with the film's people. Read full review
60
VarietyPeter DebrugeNov 2, 2013
Like too many of Sayles’ films, Go for Sisters seems bound to slip through the cracks, not quite memorable enough to make a lasting impression. Read full review
58
IndieWireEric KohnNov 2, 2013
Go For Sisters, like the filmmaker's previous features "Amigo" and "Honeydripper," sustains a feeble premise with richly defined characters and strong performances, yielding an underwhelming but nonetheless sustainable viewing experience. Read full review
55
NPRTomas HachardNov 8, 2013
There are few enough directors with either Sayles' independent streak or his ability to parse the U.S.'s social and political divisions. In the best cases, the combination of the two makes his films vital. Go For Sisters, unfortunately, isn't the best case, even for itself. Read full review
50
Washington PostAnn HornadayDec 12, 2013
Go For Sisters is worth the time if only to witness the terrific chemistry between Hamilton and Ross, the latter of whom delivers a break-through performance as a woman of uncommon, almost regal, composure, even as she struggles to stay on the righteous path. Read full review
50
Boston GlobePeter KeoughNov 21, 2013
Though fitfully entertaining, it lacks the conviction and urgency present in even the weakest of his quasi agit-prop productions. Read full review
50
The New York TimesStephen HoldenNov 7, 2013
As long as Go for Sisters is focused on its characters, it remains on firm ground. But the flimsy detective story draped over them is underdeveloped and too sluggishly paced to take hold. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineBill WeberNov 2, 2013
LisaGay Hamilton and Yolonda Ross play persuasively embody modern urban feminine strength, but they're eventually stranded in a recycled road movie. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyNov 6, 2013
Like much of the later work by writer-director John Sayles, Go For Sisters is overlong, style-less, and dramatically undercooked. Read full review
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