Pieces of April
United Artists | Release Date: October 17, 2003 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
70
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 36 Critic Reviews
Positive:
28
Mixed:
7
Negative:
1
Watch Now
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChronicleCarla Meyer
Both heartfelt and tough-minded. Read full review
90
Film ThreatTim Merrill
A film to savor and to be thankful for. Read full review
90
VarietyDavid Rooney
A Thanksgiving family reunion comedy that sparkles with acerbic wit, original characters and genuine heart. Read full review
90
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
Hedges's intelligent and touching farce, Pieces of April, makes an important contribution to a small and insignificant subgenre: Thanksgiving Day failure. It does so by raising the bar. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
It turns out to be an especially warm comedy with a hidden heart. It's a film whose humor has feeling behind it because writer-director Peter Hedges doesn't let his comedy overpower an understanding of how emotionally weighted family situations are always going to be. Read full review
90
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Pieces of April would deserve your attention and respect even if all these colorful threads didn't come together into a luminous whole. But they do, beautifully and unaffectedly, because what's been on Mr. Hedges's mind is not just a comedy of alienation but a drama of acceptance and reconciliation.
90
Washington PostDesson Thomson
This film explores what low-budget films do best: the quirkiness of character, and slightly off-kilter comedy. Read full review
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Stephen Cole
The restraint and wit Hedges and his cast display in putting together Pieces of April pay off in the film's brightly organized, deeply satisfying conclusion. Read full review
80
Film ThreatDon R. Lewis
As the debate between digital video and film rages on, Pieces of April proves a point that many people overlook in the DV/film debate. If you have a great story, a great script and a great cast, DV will work as well as film onscreen. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
Hedges keeps everything in balance: The sadness and frivolity all seem to be part of the same emotional continuum. He’s made a lingeringly poignant little movie. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterDuane Byrge
This warm and scruffy film may strike some as a mere period piece, but it's juiced with recognizable family trauma and garnished with a quirky sensibility -- it's the portrait of a group of people we come to care about. Read full review
80
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
Belongs, wholly and completely, to Clarkson, who delivers Joy's mordant asides and withering observations with a flawless balance of tartness and vulnerability. Read full review
80
Dallas ObserverRobert Wilonsky
It just feels like the real thing, which is a trick few writers can muster and even fewer directors can master. Read full review
80
EmpireNatasha Aitken
Patricia Clarkson's standout performance as Joy is as honest as it gets, and writer-director Hodges treats her sickness not with pity but great understanding. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Holmes nails every laugh without missing the dramatic nuances. She makes April and her movie well worth knowing. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Despite its themes of terminal illness, dysfunctional families, and the need to heal old wounds, the film spends more time provoking laughter than tears. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
As pat as some of its conclusions may seem, this low-budget effort has charm, fine acting and one of the few realistic screen depictions of the awkward dynamics of a family trying to circle its wagons. Read full review
75
New York PostMegan Lehmann
Clarkson, the reigning queen of the indies, is simultaneously funny and heartbreaking, following up killer performances in "The Station Agent" and "All the Real Girls." Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
In a movie that dwells so wittily and movingly on forgiveness, you have to grant pardon. Clarkson alone makes "April" a feast. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
For a movie about community and forgiveness, family and grace, Pieces of April is refreshingly unsappy. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The characters are so convincing and the mood so light and flaky that it's hard not to find it a delicious little hors d'oeuvre of a movie. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Despite its flaws, Pieces of April has a lot of joy and quirkiness; it's well-intentioned in its screwy way, with flashes of human insight, and actors who can take a moment and make it glow. Read full review
75
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
The highest compliment I can pay Pieces of April is that it brings to mind a Paul Simon lyric: "the mother and child reunion is only a motion away." Read full review
75
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
Pieces of April isn't the biggest or best film of the year, but it's touching, witty, smart and well-made. You have to sort through a lot of chaff at the multiplex to find all those qualities in a single movie. Read full review
70
SalonStephanie Zacharek
Although Pieces of April doesn't quite stick together as a whole -- in some places it's conventional and a bit contrived, particularly the ending, which feels rushed and a little tough to buy -- Hedges peppers it with enough wonderful moments that you can't help warming up to it. Read full review
67
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
The ordeal undeniably strikes an emotional chord, and much of this is due to Holmes, who wonderfully communicates both the character's streak of rebellion and her desire to atone. The movie is a solid star vehicle for her. Read full review
63
PremiereGlenn Kenny
A modestly scaled film on every level, but Hedges and company manage to ring true on almost all the material's sweet and sour notes. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Sweet and tart in just the right doses, but there's also something underwhelming about it. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
This gentle comedy marks the feature directing debut of writer Peter Hedges, a gifted writer who's perhaps best known for the screenplay based on his novel "What's Eating Gilbert Grape." Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Though Pieces Of April comes together with improbable grace, Hedges evokes unearned tears from a premise that's already loaded from the start. Like Holmes, he serves up boxed stuffing and canned cranberries, then fishes for compliments to the chef. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
The quaint racial blinders are really on the eyes of the filmmaker, Peter Hedges, who shoves his characters into the narrowest of sitcom slots and seals them there. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyChuck Wilson
A tougher, more experienced director may someday force Holmes to surprise first herself, then us. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderAnthony Kaufman
Patricia Clarkson is wonderfully acerbic as April's cancer-afflicted mom, and the finale is surprisingly subtle and sweet, but the rest of this DV feature is as contrived as a sitcom. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy Burr
The movie ends with a sentimental vision of unity that, admittedly, warmed this weary moviegoer's heart. If that vision was earned, I might even have melted. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
Ultimately Hedges’ film, like the turkey, comes out underdone. Read full review
30
Village VoiceDennis Lim
Manipulative and cloying, Pieces of April turns into something altogether creepier, even pathological, whenever first-time filmmaker Peter Hedges (screenwriter of "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" and "About a Boy") brings up race. Read full review
More From This Movie

70 Critic Reviews

8.0 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 77 Project Hail Mary
2 75 Send Help
3 73 Hoppers
4 71 The Sheep Detectives
5 68 Crime 101
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL