Liberty Heights
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: November 17, 1999 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
75
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 31 Critic Reviews
Positive:
25
Mixed:
6
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Levinson is so skillful at developing personalities, even among the story's would-be villains, that by the halfway point of the movie, every gesture and expression has unexpected depth and texture. The performances are across-the-board superb. Read full review
90
TimeRichard Schickel
Seems to encompass all the humor, sadness and weirdness of ordinary life in an utterly winning, morally acute way. Read full review
90
NewsweekDavid Ansen
A languorous, funny and lovingly detailed memory film. Read full review
90
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Demonstrates what writer-director Levinson does best: evoke the sights, smells and atmosphere of his youth with intelligence, humor and a keen sense of social perspective. Read full review
90
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Barry Levinson goes deep with Liberty Heights, and the result is a grand slam. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
A mature, accomplished piece of work, both funny and deeply felt, personal cinema of the best kind...Levinson has made the memory film we always hoped he would. Read full review
90
Film.comTom Keogh
Levinson is at the top of his game with Liberty Heights, his instincts acutely cinematic, his purpose clear. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Emerges as an accurate memory of that time when the American melting pot, splendid as a theory, became a reality. Read full review
88
New York PostLou Lumenick
Easily one of the year's best movies. Read full review
88
Baltimore SunAnn Hornaday
Well worth the wait. Read full review
85
Mr. ShowbizKevin Maynard
A uniquely personal, vibrant mosaic of the American dream, and like a dream, it evaporates beautifully before our eyes. Read full review
80
Dallas ObserverJean Oppenheimer
A disarmingly funny, clear-eyed, and affectionate memory piece. Read full review
80
Village VoiceMichael Atkinson
Buoyant with quiet smiles and unpretentious fondness. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Minus much of the rose-tinted nostalgia his films have occasionally engendered. There is a nostalgic tone to the film, but it's a quiet, subtle one. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Filmed in a quietly impressionistic style and splendidly acted by a well-chosen cast, the movie would be a top-of-the-line entertainment if its delicately balanced perspective weren't marred by a few moments of racially insensitive excess. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
Has integrity, but the way he bends his tale to make a statement is overly deliberate. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
This is a small, intimate movie bound to get lost in the holiday shuffle, but its pleasures are worth seeking out. Read full review
75
USA TodayMike Clark
Just a good time at the movies, but it's still a smarter two hours than most "good times" are. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMarc Caro
Few mainstream films portray the religiousness or ethnicity of characters with such detail, warmth and humor as Liberty Heights. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
As good as the film is in so many ways, it also altogether rings a bit false and contrived. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeJay Carr
Both a lovingly crafted remembrance of things past and a deliberate broadening and darkening of the canvas Levinson previously filled in "Diner," "Tin Men," and "Avalon." Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Levinson brings it all back home to Baltimore and delivers his funniest and most heartfelt film since "Diner." Read full review
70
The New York TimesStephen Holden
If Liberty Heights is much too soft at its center, it still offers a deeper immersion in that old '50s feeling than any other Hollywood film in recent memory. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
But Levinson's passion to explain how he got from there to ''Sphere'' gives Liberty Heights its own farkatke Hollywood integrity. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerGary Thompson
As pleasant and rosy and optimistic as it is, Liberty Heights doesn't really soar, emotionally or otherwise. Read full review
60
Rolling StonePeter Travers
I could have done more with the edgy humor of "Diner" and "Tin Men" and less of the mythmaking of "Avalon."
60
Film.comPeter Brunette
Far from perfect, and at 122 minutes it's way too long, but after surviving an overly schematic and even hectoring first half, finally delivers the emotional goods. Read full review
50
SlateDavid Edelstein
I think Levinson missed a chance to get something unique and audacious on screen. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyManohla Dargis
A lot here is genially entertaining, but it doesn't make for interesting or vital filmmaking, because while Levinson might honestly prefer rye, he makes movies the way Wonder Bread bakes. Read full review
45
TNT RoughCutDon Kaye
This may be what life was like for Levinson back in the day, but it makes a boring movie for the rest of us. Read full review
40
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
Told from too many perspectives, the narrative puts suspense above substance, and its social consciousness seems contrived. Read full review
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