God's Pocket
IFC Films | Release Date: May 9, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
51
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
15
Negative:
5
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperMay 15, 2014
While the subject matter is often bleak, this isn’t a depressing journey. Seeing great actors at the top of their game working with such rich material is never a downer. Read full review
88
New York PostKyle SmithMay 7, 2014
As for Hoffman, the shambling Everyman naturalism he shows here gives God’s Pocket an added elegiac layer that makes its bitter ironies that much more painful. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyMay 7, 2014
The performance, one of Hoffman’s last, is unostentatious, but sensitive. Hoffman inhabited lifelong losers better than any other actor. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinMay 9, 2014
Slattery adapted the book with Alex Metcalf and gets the tone just right. The film is damnably amusing. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierMay 8, 2014
Gritty, funny, rich adaptation of a Pete Dexter novel. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsMay 15, 2014
You can tell by some loose threads and hurried workmanship that God’s Pocket is a knock-off, but it’s so stuffed with value, it’s an offer you can’t refuse. Read full review
70
The DissolveMike D'AngeloMay 8, 2014
Because the actors are uniformly strong, though, and because the neighborhood itself provides such a credible context, Slattery manages to create the impression of an immense backstory that informs every interaction, making any sketchiness seem like naturalism rather than a failure of imagination. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenMay 14, 2014
The drama may not be as focused as we might like, but Slattery’s outstanding gallery of actors make this an ensemble piece that commands our attention: These dead-end characters stick out like bas reliefs in the community framework. Read full review
63
Washington PostStephanie MerryMay 15, 2014
You might call it a black comedy of errors, but the humorous side of the film is less well executed than Slattery’s impeccable creation of a certain neighborhood feel. Read full review
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