Holy Smoke
Miramax Films | Release Date: December 3, 1999 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
57
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 30 Critic Reviews
Positive:
16
Mixed:
10
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Winslet and Keitel are perfectly matched, go-for-broke actors handed dramatic license to do a psychic striptease. Read full review
60
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
As Holy Smoke moves from its early mix of rapture and humor into this more serious, confrontational stage, it runs into trouble. Read full review
60
SalonMary Elizabeth Williams
Kate Winslet is a mesmerizing force in her own right, but too much of Holy Smoke turns out to be hot air. Read full review
60
Mr. ShowbizMichael Atkinson
It's not a movie you could call dispassionate, however aimless and unfocused. It's a Molotov cocktail tossed in several directions at once. Read full review
58
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
It's an often lovely, constantly assured film that now and again burps forth a really remarkable vision. But it's also half-nuts -- maybe three-quarters.
50
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Wrestles with big questions, gets the upper hand during the first hour, then loses its grip. By the end, it's flat on its back on the mat. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
This is mainly smoke, not fire. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Campion is an imaginative filmmaker, but here she reduces a fascinating subject to a two-character soap opera that often seems contrived on both spiritual and psychological levels. Read full review
50
VarietyDavid Rooney
Original in every sense. Read full review
40
Dallas ObserverJean Oppenheimer
If Campion has a message in all this -- something about the eternal battle of the sexes -- it is far from clear. Read full review
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