Once Upon a Time in the Midlands
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: August 29, 2003 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
56
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
11
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
VarietyDerek Elley
Marvelously involving family saga. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleCarla Meyer
Charming family story. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
It evokes the atmosphere of a Sergio Leone Western, sneaking up under the movie's human comedy and adding a smile. Read full review
70
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
What really separates "Midlands" from Leone's desiccated, terse genre work is Mr. Meadows's doting attention to his characters' decency. It gives a demonstrative bittersweetness to a likable but small story. Read full review
70
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
Sharply drawn and well-acted. Read full review
70
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
Always predictable in its outcome, but it still retains a certain charm, mostly because of Meadows's cheerful sympathy and affection for his motley crew of characters. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
There are instances when the filmmaker tries for Western iconography and settles for ''Full Monty'' ingratiation. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneLoren King
Meadows clearly has a flair for working with actors and for depicting the rough-and-tumble of ordinary provincial lives. If he could go just a bit deeper, the truly great Midlands movie just might surface. Read full review
63
New York PostMegan Lehmann
Just Brit filmmaker Shane Meadows having some fun with the conventions of the spaghetti western. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Pure bangers-and-mash realism: a spotty yet ingratiating working-class farce that suggests a Mike Leigh movie with opera buffa tendencies. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Stephen Cole
The film's best players can all be found in the supporting cast. Read full review
60
Village VoiceJessica Winter
There are pages missing from this fable: Meadows reports that his financiers asked him to cut one-quarter of his original script just before production began, and his fondness for long takes sits uneasily beside the apparent gaps in the narrative. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Often seems like a Mike Leigh movie viewed in a fun-house mirror. Read full review
58
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
It's an interesting experiment that doesn't quite work. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKevin Crust
It's a compelling and ambitious idea, but one that misfires because of its underwhelming characters and slack storytelling. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
A movie saved by great acting. Read full review
50
SlateDavid Edelstein
The sheer novelty of the enterprise is probably why Once Upon a Time in the Midlands has gotten so many rave reviews when it's actually sort of … middling. Read full review
50
Dallas ObserverGregory Weinkauf
This movie's just so-so, but at its heart lies a true leading lady. Read full review
50
Washington PostDesson Thomson
The story, which feels more like a sprawl of television episodes than a film, is a little tedious to sit through. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
Midlands finds some measure of success in its use of regular, real-looking people -- as opposed to the oddly glamorous characters who turn up in most romantic comedies -- but it's as though the writer used up all the personality traits before he got to Shirley. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
In the end, Meadows' film lacks the bite it needs to make us care about this oddball trio, endearing though they are. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
The complications are predictable, as is the resolution; what keeps the film from sinking into its own inconsequentiality is the throaty-voiced Henderson, who can make the most preposterous behavior ring absolutely true. Read full review
38
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
After 45 minutes of incomparable boredom, the movie gets slightly better when it stops reaching for cheap yuks and lets the actors do what they do well. Read full review
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