Goodbye Solo
Roadside Attractions | Release Date: March 27, 2009 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
89
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
25
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Wherever you live, when this film opens, it will be the best film in town. Read full review
100
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
Grace is also what defines Mr. Bahrani's filmmaking. I can't think of anything else to call the quality of exquisite attention, wry humor and wide-awake intelligence that informs every frame of this almost perfect film. Read full review
100
SlateDana Stevens
A film of great intelligence and quiet assurance, Goodbye Solo exhilarates without ever trafficking in easy uplift. Read full review
100
San Francisco ChronicleReyhan Harmanci
Almost frighteningly alive. Read full review
100
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
Goodbye Solo is visually simple and stunning, especially the haunting nightscapes of Solo's perambulations. But more important, Goodbye Solo is driven by deep feeling and sensitivity. Don't miss it. Read full review
100
Portland OregonianMarc Mohan
The acting is flawless, the world feels utterly real, and the finale accomplishes the miracle of finding in the everyday world something profound. Read full review
100
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
At heart, though, every moviegoer can recognize a love story, no matter how unusual the context. Read full review
100
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
A quietly soulful study of two very different men. Read full review
90
VarietyRonnie Scheib
Utterly engrossing dual-character study, unfolding with a serene disregard for indie quirkiness, Goodbye Solo radiates authenticity. Read full review
90
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
Like his protagonist, Bahrani never gives up on William; his camera never stops probing. He loves West's face, and he honors its mystery. Read full review
90
Village VoiceScott Foundas
Bahrani possesses a disciplined sense of composition and form, a vision of the world that extends beyond the boundaries of his own navel, and the understanding that it is possible to make films about class and race in this country without pandering to the audience. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
Bahrani's small marvel of a film. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
The acting's so true, and Bahrani's so observant, you find yourself caring about everyone onscreen. Read full review
88
New York PostLou Lumenick
The role of William is a perfect fit for Red West, a well-weathered member of Elvis Presley's Memphis Mafia who has served as a bodyguard as well as a stuntman and bit-part actor. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
It sounds like the old unstoppable-force-meets-immovable-object trick. Ramin Bahrani's Goodbye Solo has the trappings of such a story, but, mercifully, none of the follow-through. Read full review
88
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
It's intelligent and emotional, not studied or sappy. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
The result is a playful, elusive movie that isn't so much heartwarming as soul-cleansing. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterGautaman Bhaskaran
It is both funny and sad, placid and provocative and, above all, hopeful and despairing. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
The emotion here is genuine, but the outlook is tough: in Bahrani's movies we're all aliens to each other. Read full review
80
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
Most of the movie's subterranean emotion is found in the unsettled relationship between Solo and William, and in the extraordinary performances by the two leading men. Read full review
80
The New YorkerDavid Denby
He [Bahrani] encloses his two characters in a motel room, but he doesn't make them buddies, as a Hollywood movie would. They are characterized in great detail as separate beings. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Its style is spare, rigorous, almost anti-dramatic, but it deals thoughtfully with some of the most complex elements of the human equation. Read full review
80
EmpirePatrick Peters
Subtle and unflinching, this is genuine and charming. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
What distinguishes Goodbye Solo, beyond Savané’s larger-than-life personality bumping up against West’s intractable curmudgeon, is the continued particularity of Bahrani’s work. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Ultimately, Goodbye Solo works because the screenplay, actors, and director combine to craft honest, compelling individuals. Read full review
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