Manglehorn
IFC Films | Release Date: June 19, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
56
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 26 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
17
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeAug 31, 2014
Green operates in a smarter mode of storytelling, giving the audience the benefit of the doubt that they'll notice the details, and he's clearly whispered Pacino into giving a nuanced and human-sized turn. Read full review
83
HitfixCatherine Bray Aug 31, 2014
Manglehorn is a lush, hazy drama that requires a certain open-mindedness, but there's no doubting the craft of its director, who continues to prove himself one of the less predictable and most skilled craftsmen around. Read full review
83
The PlaylistJessica KiangAug 31, 2014
For filmmaker and actor, even on those occasions when Manglehorn’s risks do not pay off, we have to credit the courage and confidence it took to attempt them; but more often than not they pay dividends and the result gently dazzles. Read full review
80
The GuardianXan BrooksAug 31, 2014
Pacino's Manglehorn is a subtle master class in neutral shading, with none of the garish flashes that sometimes bedevil his work. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineChuck BowenJun 15, 2015
David Gordon Green stages even fleeting tonal palate cleansers with a self-consciousness that parallels Al Pacino's acting. Read full review
70
The New York TimesNicolas RapoldJun 18, 2015
In truth, it’s less Manglehorn than Mr. Pacino that you warm up to in this film, as so many times before. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesMichael RechtshaffenJun 18, 2015
Though occasionally distracting, the quirky visual poetry eventually proceeds to work its magic. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleSteve DavisJul 3, 2015
While Manglehorn eschews the traditional third-act redemption you’ve seen ad nauseam in films that neatly wrap things up right before the end credits roll, it’s nevertheless refreshingly optimistic about people’s ability to change. For any of us entering life’s third act, hope springs eternal. Read full review
60
EmpireAngie ErrigoAug 3, 2015
Holly Hunter goes toe-to-toe nicely with the superbly understated Al Pacino loner obsessed with a long-lost love — one of his most rewarding outings in a very long time. Read full review
60
Time Out LondonCath ClarkeAug 3, 2015
Pacino gives his most natural performance in years. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzJun 25, 2015
[Pacino] and Green sometimes overplay their hand. That is, overplay the underplaying, which sounds patently ridiculous but is the exact description warranted here. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriJun 22, 2015
There’s a powerful austerity to Manglehorn the man’s tale that Manglehorn the film itself — well acted and touching though it often is — doesn’t quite match. Read full review
60
CineVueJohn BleasdaleAug 31, 2014
The style, one senses, is overcompensating for a narrative slackness that has nowhere particular to go other than anti-climax. That's not to say that Manglehorn isn't a good film - it is. It's just that Pacino's seasoned performance deserved a great film. Read full review
60
VarietyPeter DebrugeAug 31, 2014
Something about working with Pacino forces what could have been a breaks-the-mold character portrait into factory-made territory. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloJun 17, 2015
Pacino has finally started acting again, which is cause for celebration. It’ll be real cause for celebration if/when he also starts picking projects worthier than The Humbling, Danny Collins, and now Manglehorn, all of which see him struggling to find moments of truth within a contrived, borderline ludicrous scenario. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleDavid LewisJul 16, 2015
At least we get Pacino and Hunter. We may not understand why this story appealed to them, except for the fact that it gave them a chance to work together. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanJul 9, 2015
Sure, there’s an undeniable pleasure from watching Pacino and Hunter work the screen, but the syrupy, symbol-heavy script by first-time feature writer Paul Logan is weighed down further by cliches and false notes. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaJul 3, 2015
If Manglehorn is to be remembered at all, it shall be for the excruciating first date that its title character goes on with a chirpy bank clerk he has long been chatting up. Her name is Dawn, and she is played by Holly Hunter. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeMark FeeneyJul 3, 2015
Hunter has a scene with Pacino in a cafeteria where she expresses a degree of emotional pain, just through how she looks at him and holds her head, that’s at once awful to see and magnificent. It’s hard to figure out what Pacino saw in the script. What Hunter saw was this scene and getting to act with Pacino. Read full review
50
New York PostSara StewartJun 17, 2015
The tone and focus of David Gordon Green’s Manglehorn careens around so much it’s hard not to end up as irritable as its title character. Read full review
50
ObserverRex ReedJun 17, 2015
A dull, pretentious trifle from director David Gordon Green with Al Pacino in another of his late-career mishaps that does nothing to elevate his fading film status. How I wish he would stick to the stage. Read full review
50
Village VoiceSherilyn ConnellyJun 16, 2015
As is to be expected from Green in his pensive mode, there are lovely images in Manglehorn... But Manglehorn is also the latest entry into the tiresome Sad Man Learning to Love Again genre. Read full review
40
The DissolveKeith PhippsJun 17, 2015
Pacino never goes too big, as he’s had the tendency to do for a while, but he also never goes deep. Manglehorn wanders and rambles, and the movie follows along dutifully, even though there isn’t much to see along the way. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyAug 31, 2014
The mix of limpid naturalism with lyricism that has often distinguished David Gordon Green's indie films slides into sentimentality, or worse yet, whimsy in Manglehorn. Read full review
40
The TelegraphRobbie CollinAug 31, 2014
The picture is slight to the point of translucence. Read full review
38
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoJun 19, 2015
The result is a disappointing, shambling piece of melancholy with a few interesting scenes here and there that never cohere in such a way that allows the legendary actor to disappear into the character. Read full review
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