Not Fade Away
Paramount Vantage | Release Date: December 21, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
65
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
17
Mixed:
9
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Time OutKeith UhlichDec 18, 2012
It isn't until the story reaches its fancifully abstract final passages, where cinema displaces music as Douglas's weapon of choice, that Chase's reverie reveals itself as a particularly exceptional exploration of how art ceases being an idle hobby and becomes an obsessive vocation. Read full review
90
The New York TimesStephen HoldenDec 20, 2012
By focusing on musicians who are talented but finally not good or persistent enough to succeed in the big time, Not Fade Away offers a poignant, alternative, antiheroic history of the big beat. Read full review
90
Village VoiceScott FoundasDec 18, 2012
It's a small gem with a killer rock soundtrack, well worth seeking out amid all the awards-season Sturm und Drang. Read full review
88
Slant MagazineJaime N. ChristleyDec 4, 2012
Triumphs when David Chase's empowerment as a kind of autobiographical historian is balanced with the thrill of submersing the viewer in the tidal pool of his memories Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayDec 19, 2012
Chase deals with the mundane reality that squashes those dreams, but he doesn't downplay the dreams themselves, which he keeps honoring throughout Not Fade Away, right up to an audaciously abstract final scene that rivals the end of "The Sopranos" for sheer nerve. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinDec 20, 2012
A stirring snapshot of America from 1963 to 1968 and the many rock 'n' roll thrills, cultural and political watersheds, and whirling emotions that erupted in between. It's also deviously smart and darkly funny. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyDec 4, 2012
The film may be too meandering for mainstream acceptance, but its focus will make the Paramount Vantage release connect directly with many baby boomers. It's also a warm, funny, poignant scrapbook that evokes a spirit of youth still relatable in later eras. Read full review
75
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanJan 3, 2013
In writer-director David Chase's heartfelt delivery, this same old tune somehow comes out sounding fresh. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumJan 2, 2013
Not Fade Away is Chase's reward to himself - a transparently autobiographical work, his first feature-length film, and one that he's said he has wanted to make for years. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleDec 31, 2012
Not Fade Away is a movie by a filmmaker who treasures his memories, cares about social history and relishes getting it right. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaDec 27, 2012
Mostly, Not Fade Away is a hit. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsDec 27, 2012
If any one aspect of Chase's film keeps it from being more than merely coolly engaging (which it is), it's the casting. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversDec 18, 2012
His (Chase) ardent, acutely observed debut makes him, at 67, a filmmaker to watch. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzJan 3, 2013
Solid, enjoyable, good, but not great. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinDec 23, 2012
A glancing, disjointed little movie that captures as well as any film I've seen the mind-expanding mojo of rock and roll at the dawn of the counterculture - particularly rhythm-and-blues-oriented rock, particularly the Rolling Stones, the group that synthesized R&B and made it commercial. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia PuigJan 3, 2013
The highlight of Not Fade Away, a meandering and bittersweet coming-of-age story, is its killer '60s pop-rock soundtrack. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenDec 31, 2012
Ultimately a disappointment – this is a movie easy to watch and even easier to forget. Read full review
58
The PlaylistRodrigo PerezDec 23, 2012
Though not a poor effort per se -- David Chase's Not Fade Away does authentically captures the heart and soul of the music of the era and the intoxicating/naive dream of making it big -- the picture isn't exactly a remarkable one either. Read full review
58
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerDec 23, 2012
Gandolfini, though, is a standout as the old-school father who can't abide his new-style son (but loves him anyway). Read full review
58
IndieWireEric KohnDec 4, 2012
It's a period piece composed of familiar pieces, none of which have much to say beyond surface elements that have been explored countless times before. Using a typical coming-of-age mold, Chase turns cultural ephemera into formula. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy BurrDec 27, 2012
It's both achingly affectionate and a terrible mess. Read full review
50
New York PostLou LumenickDec 20, 2012
The acting is OK, but none of the leads has the kind of sizzle that might have turned this into something as special as another film set roughly in the same era, "Diner.'' Read full review
50
NPRMark JenkinsDec 20, 2012
Music drives the movie, and the producers popped for the real stuff: Robert Johnson, Moby Grape and - curiously - the Sex Pistols are all here. The soundtrack is so overstuffed that it relegates Beatles and Dylan tunes to the end credits. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenJan 4, 2013
Now that his passion project is out of the way, I look forward to seeing what Chase does next. He's sure to have his editor's pen back in hand by then. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierDec 20, 2012
Mood is more important to Not Fade Away than anything, but writer-director David Chase, who turned mood into masterpiece with every season of "The Sopranos," allows nostalgic feeling to be the sole reason for this, his first feature film. Read full review
40
TimeRichard CorlissDec 20, 2012
Painful, and not in a good way. A glimpse into the '60s should give us not just the warm bath of recognition but the shock of the new, as least as it felt in days of old. That doesn't happen, in a movie that evokes less empathy than apathy. Read full review
38
Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanJan 4, 2013
I hope his life was less dull than the movie he's made from it. Read full review
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