On a Clear Day
Focus Features | Release Date: April 7, 2006 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
62
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
5
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Film ThreatPeter Hanson
A rich drama that gradually evolves into a feel-good story. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterRay Bennett
The kind of drama that British television used to do so well, a well-constructed, smartly observed story of ordinary people learning how to communicate with one another. Read full review
75
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Dellal and their cast consistently hit the right notes, and the result is an uplifting tale that you don't have to be embarrassed to enjoy. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerPaula Nechak
Mullan is a great choice as Frank, playing the silent guy with all kinds of baggage perfectly. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianM. E. Russell
Mullan makes the journey more than worthwhile, but don't go in expecting profundity. Read full review
70
VarietyJoe Leydon
By turns whimsically humorous and intelligently sentimental, but also infused with a pungent air of working-class realism. Read full review
70
The New York TimesJeannette Catsoulis
Despite a familiar crop of lovable eccentrics and a predictably inspirational thrust, the movie resists formula just enough to achieve a surprising degree of emotional traction. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
When a feelgood formula is fleshed out artfully, going along with it can feel very good indeed.
70
Los Angeles TimesCarina Chocano
Sweet-natured, if somewhat familiar, On a Clear Day features fine performances by Mullan, Blethyn and Sives. Dellal and cinematographer David Johnson paint an inviting picture of Glasgow. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderAndrea Gronvall
Humorous touches add warmth without being cloying, but Mullan carries the film with his intelligence and rugged intensity: images of his barrel-chested physique against the craggy shore resound on such an elemental level as to be almost spiritual. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Against all reason, this workingman's journey across the sea winds up seeming every bit as inspirational as the filmmakers intended, entirely because Mullan's grit validates every cornpone emotion. With a lesser actor, the movie would sink like a stone. Read full review
67
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
Blethyn, as Frank's wife, is less high-strung than usual, which is a boon. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Just as surely as the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, this domestic comedy follows a direct path through every crisis, every resolution and every sentimental heartbeat laid out in the script. Read full review
63
New York PostKyle Smith
Unlike American movies about challenging yourself, it's all played in a minor key. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneJessica Reaves
While On a Clear Day can claim both a surplus of heart and adequate brains, it comes up lacking in the courage department. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia Puig
If you don't mind some contrivance, On a Clear Day is a diverting underdog tale. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Pleasantly inspirational on its own terms, "Clear" is no one's idea of fresh goods. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
Didn't we just see this movie? Over in Britain, big bad governments may be outsourcing his job and rendering him redundant, but never fear -- the plucky working-class hero has definitely found a steady gig on the silver screen. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Scottish actor Peter Mullan saves a drama tangled in the seaweed of life lessons from drowning in pathos. Read full review
50
Village VoiceMichael Atkinson
Gaby Dellal's cynically mushy film, like "The Full Monty" and its ilk, is best savored only by its target demo: middle-classers who see one imported film a year, the selection in question requiring working-stiff melodrama and leprechaun burrs gently and lovably mangling the English dialogue. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
On a Clear Day is in most respects "The Full Monty," only with swimming, not stripping, and no bursts into song or dance - only the usual canny sequencing of tears and laughter, interspersed here with fetching underwater photography and father-son issues up the wazoo. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
A conventional film for an unconventional actor. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
It's a first feature film for both screenwriter Alex Rose and director Gaby Dellal, and their inexperience shows in Frank's underdeveloped relationships with family and friends and in the movie's sluggish pacing. Read full review
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