Limbo
Screen Gems | Release Date: June 4, 1999 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
68
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 26 Critic Reviews
Positive:
21
Mixed:
5
Negative:
0
Watch Now
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Determined to use melodrama as a vehicle to get to other places and explore other possibilities, Sayles simply assumes the audience will go along with him. His skill is such that we invariably do, but the journey, like that of his characters, is not always an easy one. [04 Jun 1999, p.F6]
50
SalonMary Elizabeth Williams
The first half of the film leisurely examines the deterioration and possible salvation of the soul in a once-glorious, rapidly disintegrating landscape. (His Alaska is full of closed factories, wandering tourists and strip mines.) The second half, with its contrived setup and its individual journeys of self-discovery (harvesting kelp and building fires), is artificial and sadly undermines all that's gone before. Read full review
50
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Limbo is half-priced Sayles. After a promising opening in which numerous interesting aspects of life in modern Alaska are laid out, the potentially fascinating social dynamics are dropped in favor of a thinly realized survival tale that falls flat dramatically and cinematically. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
There's an argument to be made that the film's ending is the logical conclusion of its notion that everyone's trapped in a limbo of disappointment, uncertainty and paralyzing fear of change. But it feels like a cheap cop out: The cast, and the audience, deserve better. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
This brash shocker by John Sayles—who wrote, directed, and edited—is bound to annoy as many people as it intrigues. Read full review
More From This Movie

68 Critic Reviews

tbd User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 77 Project Hail Mary
2 75 Send Help
3 73 Hoppers
4 71 The Sheep Detectives
5 68 Crime 101
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL