Love and Death on Long Island
Lions Gate Films Home Entertainment | Release Date: March 6, 1998 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
81
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
A highly original Death in Venice-scented comedy drama written and directed with flair by British feature novice Richard Kwietniowski. Read full review
100
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Hurt gives an astonishingly sensitive and funny performance as the bedazzled intellectual, and first-time filmmaker Kwietniowski unfolds the story with an unfailing blend of humor and compassion. Read full review
90
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
A witty, canny meditation on the power of pop culture in general and the rationalizations of cinephilia and film criticism in particular. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Love and Death on Long Island is sharp, sophisticated and completely delicious, a purposeful comedy that focuses on the power of screen images to uproot lives and the poignancy of amour fou, totally mad love. Read full review
90
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Denby
Writer-director Richard Kwietniowski has never made a feature before, but this debut effort is a triumph, a buoyant and elegant achievement -- romantic and ruminative yet always precise, a comedy of longing propelled by a strong current of satirical observation. Read full review
90
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
An unpredictable, often funny, always winning film, Love And Death On Long Island is filled with low-key humor and sharp observations about the state of art at the close of the millennium. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
These opening scenes of Love and Death on Long Island are funny and touching, and Hurt brings a dignity to Giles De'Ath that transcends any snickering amusement at his infatuation. Read full review
80
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
John Hurt is simply wonderful -- acerbic, funny and heartbreaking. Read full review
80
NewsweekDavid Ansen
The first-time writer-director, Englishman Richard Kwietniowski, has adapted Gilbert Adair's novel with wit, economy and a delicate understanding that the funniest comedies are played with dead seriousness. Read full review
80
VarietyDavid Rooney
This is arguably Hurt's best role in years, and he bites into it with relish, managing to seem both manipulative and vulnerable, dour and droll at the same time. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
The height of drollery, a cheeky ode to the liberating power of popular culture, and a fascinating look at an old dog learning some new tricks. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Despite the many laughs Love and Death offers, it never takes cheap shots. It has a vibrant, beating heart - and that makes the comedy all the more worthwhile. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)John Haslett Cuff
It is a slight, charming, filmic oddity, well acted and intelligently written Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
Directed with style and wit by London filmmaker Richard Kwietniowski, who makes his feature debut here, Love and Death is an off-kilter romantic comedy. Read full review
75
San Francisco ExaminerBarbara Shulgasser
The script, by director Richard Kwietnioski and adapted from the Gilbert Adair novel, is poignant and well constructed. Read full review
70
SalonCharles Taylor
With Love and Death on Long Island, writer-director Richard Kwietniowski makes a very pleasing feature debut. Read full review
70
SlateDavid Edelstein
First-time director Richard Kwietniowski has fun with the collision of high and low culture, and he does elegant work. Read full review
70
The New YorkerDaphne Merkin
Directed with an original touch by Richard Kwietniowski, the movie is less about the nature of homoerotic longing than about the closeted nature of love itself. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
The interactions between the raspy-voiced Hurt and various shallowly cheerful Americans are genuinely charming and dynamic. Read full review
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