Mississippi Grind
A24 | Release Date: September 25, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
77
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
24
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
The New York TimesA.O. ScottSep 24, 2015
Mississippi Grind itself may be a bit of a throwback to the lived-in, character-driven, landscape-besotted films of the 1970s, but it’s less a pastiche or a homage than the cinematic equivalent of a classic song, expertly covered. Read full review
88
St. Louis Post-DispatchCalvin WilsonOct 6, 2015
There’s less a sense of hitting plot points than of capturing life on the fly, and Mendelsohn and Reynolds ride that vibe brilliantly. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneKatie WalshOct 2, 2015
Reynolds and Mendelsohn could not be more different actors, but in this pairing they are perfect. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperOct 1, 2015
Mississippi Grind is the cinematic equivalent of the unassuming, quiet player at the poker table who allows you to believe you have him pegged — and that’s when he springs the trap on you and shows you something you never saw coming. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzSep 25, 2015
It's bracing in its simplicity. It's a character portrait, period. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter TraversSep 25, 2015
The movie needed great performances, and it gets them from Ryan Reynolds and Ben Mendelsohn. Read full review
85
TheWrapTricia OlszewskiSep 26, 2015
Mississippi Grind winds up being that rare beast: the buddy comedy where you’re not tired of the buddies well before the credits roll. Read full review
80
The TelegraphTim RobeyOct 28, 2015
From its unshowy script on down, Mississippi Grind is content to rumble along as a character piece, keeping its storytelling loose and unpredictable, like a repeat flick of the dice. Read full review
80
EmpireStaff (Not credited)Oct 19, 2015
While it’s a bit of a slow burner, Mendelsohn is so compelling, there’s really no need for things to speed up. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzOct 2, 2015
Mendelsohn manages to make us simultaneously feel sorry for him and hope, against what seem like steep odds, that he somehow succeeds. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesMichael RechtshaffenOct 1, 2015
Australian Mendelsohn (sporting a pitch-perfect American accent) and Reynolds are terrific, each wrapping himself up in the material like a well-worn favorite sweater. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriSep 29, 2015
A film that turns on this kind of ambiguity would ordinarily be cold, grim, paranoid. But Boden and Fleck give this world texture and warmth; their widescreen interiors glow, and it’s hard not to be lulled into them by the siren song of conversation and clinking drinks and possibility. Read full review
80
Time OutDavid EhrlichSep 24, 2015
A sweet, shambling, supremely enjoyable road movie about two compulsive gamblers of very different stripes. Read full review
80
Village VoiceSimon AbramsSep 22, 2015
Bitterly funny gambling comedy Mississippi Grind transcends its generic lovable-losers-on-a-bender plot by foregrounding exceptionally well-developed skid-row protagonists and weirdly charming dive-bar ambiance. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyJan 28, 2015
The filmmakers' reluctance to over-explain character motivations has mostly kept their films out of the mainstream and will continue to do so here, but there's no shortage of impressions that resonate. And the performances of both Reynolds and Mendelsohn are fortified with deep feeling, working in admirable tandem. Read full review
80
VarietyJustin ChangJan 28, 2015
For all the impressive authenticity of the various settings, it’s Gerry and Curtis’ continually evolving push-pull dynamic that deservedly takes centerstage here, in a picture driven far less by narrative incident than by its gently pulsing comic undercurrents and vivid contemplation of character. Read full review
80
The GuardianJordan HoffmanJan 28, 2015
Writer-director team Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (It’s Kind of A Funny Story, Half Nelson) must be applauded for refusing to let their shaggy dog tale line up with any predictable storyline. Read full review
75
New York PostSara StewartSep 24, 2015
This low-budget indie has a unique ambiance and surprising depth, both in the performances of its two leads and the writing/directing team of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (“Half Nelson”). Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloSep 23, 2015
So long as the film focuses on that spiky rapport, and on the authentic, lived-in textures of the American Midwest, it’s thoroughly enjoyable. Unfortunately, the grittiness and weary pathos ultimately gives way to a disappointingly pat finale, undermining everything that came before. Read full review
75
HitfixDrew McWeenyJan 28, 2015
One thing Mississippi Grind has in spades is soul, and that's a better bet than narrative mechanics any day. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleSteve DavisSep 30, 2015
Filmmakers Boden and Fleck don’t appear interested in eliciting your full-out sympathy for these low-rollers, though the happyish ending seems somewhat a sellout (albeit a satisfactory one). Who’s to blame them? After all, everybody loves a winner. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerGary ThompsonOct 6, 2015
The movie is a snapshot collage of flyover America, but also, perhaps, an homage to the soon-to-be-lost world of brick-and-mortar gambling. Read full review
63
Washington PostAnn HornadayOct 1, 2015
Mississippi Grind winds up being an improbably satisfying, even heartwarming character study. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineChristopher GraySep 21, 2015
Ryan Boden and Anna Fleck convey an engagingly low-key atmosphere, pervasive with wayward souls haunted by poor choices. Read full review
60
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottOct 9, 2015
Ryan Reynolds and Ben Mendelsohn, and their casting in the lead roles pays off in spades. In fact, they're the primary reasons Mississippi Grind works as well as it does. Read full review
58
The PlaylistRodrigo PerezJan 28, 2015
Fleck and Boden certainly have strong filmmaking smarts. They understand restraint, have terrific observational eyes, and know how to coax honest performances out of actors. So it’s perhaps a shame that Mississippi Grind is ultimately too underwhelming to stake with any confidence. Read full review
50
IndieWireSterlin JohnsonJan 29, 2015
Part road-film, part-gambling excursion, and part-bromance, the film does show the influence of its talented directors. But falters when it comes down the story itself. Read full review
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