Limelight
Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: September 23, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
57
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 11 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
7
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezOct 13, 2011
Depending on your age, Limelight could make you nostalgic for those bad old days - and sort of glad you'll never be able to relive them. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubNathan RabinSep 21, 2011
As usual, Corben's style is caffeinated and a little rough around the edges, but he's a tenacious journalist, and his yen for sensationalism gives Limelight an irresistible tabloid pop. Read full review
70
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisSep 22, 2011
As a trippy, trifling memorial to a time before its eponymous club was a mini-mall and rave culture a woozy memory, Limelight delivers the messed-up goods. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierSep 23, 2011
Transporting as it is, this doc leaves a bad taste in your mouth, if just for the ill will it drudges up. Read full review
60
Village VoiceSeth Colter WallsSep 20, 2011
Given all this interesting raw material, it's mildly disappointing that the filmmakers tie it together with such cheesy connective tissue. Read full review
60
Time OutKeith UhlichSep 20, 2011
This is still a fascinating history, especially when Limelight touches on the club scene's dark side: A lengthy dissection of the Angel Melendez murder, complete with an appearance by weathered-looking killer Michael Alig, chillingly shows how the out-all-night lifestyle can take its toll. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesMark OlsenNov 12, 2011
If all you know about Peter Gatien going in to Limelight is that he is a nightclub owner with legal issues, that's about all you'll know coming out. Read full review
50
VarietyJohn AndersonSep 24, 2011
Watching Limelight, about the rise and politically engineered fall of onetime Manhattan nightclub kingpin Peter Gatien, is like looking through a family album: If you're in the family, you might be interested. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Stephen ColeSep 22, 2011
All outrageous stuff. Gatien's story is worth telling. Which makes it all the more unfortunate that director Billy Corben presents it in such a methodical fashion. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineEric HendersonSep 18, 2011
Limelight focuses far too much on the club's downfall and not nearly enough on what attracted its denizens there in the first place, managing only to preach to the choir, forgetting to also take it to church. Read full review
38
New York PostLou LumenickSep 23, 2011
Even if Corben hadn't photographed Gatien with lighting that makes him look like a horror-movie villain, he'd hardly come off as innocent. Read full review
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