Judy Berlin
Image Entertainment | Release Date: February 25, 2000 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
74
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 30 Critic Reviews
Positive:
24
Mixed:
6
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Boston GlobeJay Carr
It isn't often that lives of quiet desperation are served up with such pearly restraint. Read full review
100
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Some movies are too good to miss. Judy Berlin is one of them...It works like magic.
100
USA TodayMike Clark
Tightly constructed and controlled.
91
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Haunting and hopeful. Read full review
90
SalonCharles Taylor
An almost perfectly realized poetic vision of people who continue in their everyday existence certain that life in a larger sense has passed them by. Read full review
90
L.A. WeeklyErnest Hardy
Where "American Beauty" was smug and obvious in its dissection of suburban life, Judy Berlin is hilarious, heartbreaking and -- in its graciousness -- unlike any American film we've seen in a long time. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
A comedy of the most delicately balanced perfection. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneJohn Petrakis
Beautiful little film.
85
Mr. ShowbizKevin Maynard
Captures the emptiness of small-time lives as evocatively as Peter Bogdonavich's "Last Picture Show." Read full review
80
Film.comGraham Fuller
Etched with sensitivity and wit, above all with an unpatronizing compassion for ordinary people going about their business on an extraordinary day. Read full review
80
Dallas ObserverGregory Weinkauf
Philosophy imbues this inescapably self-reflexive movie with a rare compassion. Read full review
80
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Something to get excited about. Read full review
80
Film.comHenry Cabot Beck
Unlikely to draw the audience it deserves, but those who do see it will have a hard time shaking its gentle, ghostly echoes. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
A gorgeously crafted love poem. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Laced with magic-realist bittersweetness.
75
Baltimore SunAnn Hornaday
Possesses moments of fleeting grace, pathos and beauty, even if it ultimately doesn't amount to much.
75
San Francisco ExaminerWesley Morris
Broadway-sized performances.
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Strikingly original movie. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Its leisurely pace and surreal poetry won't break box-office records, but will surely serve to introduce Mendelsohn as a major new talent. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
With skill and also with love, writer-director Eric Mendelsohn creates a delicate and airy mood, a kind of cinematic haiku. Read full review
70
VarietyDennis Harvey
Numerous lovely, quirky moments. Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
A gentle, offbeat drama that hails the arrival of a new talent in writer-director Eric Mendelsohn, and bids a poignant farewell to a uniquely gifted actress, the late Madeline Kahn. Read full review
70
NewsweekTed Gideonse
Gorgeous, mesmerizing, and stunningly well acted.
63
New York PostJonathan Foreman
Boasts several fine performances and some elegant, eerie black-and- white photography.
60
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Mendelsohn's fusion of science fiction and Chekhovian melancholy finds a fresh perspective on a familiar theme. Read full review
50
TNT RoughCutDon Kaye
More of a moody performance piece than a film.
50
Film.comJohn Hartl
Like "American Beauty" without the fangs - or the magic. Read full review
50
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
A bit precious, ultimately wearisome. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
Arch yet earnest. Read full review
40
TimeRichard Corliss
The film is one-note; misery is the only game in town. Read full review
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