Pleasantville
New Line Cinema | Release Date: October 23, 1998 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
71
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews
Positive:
24
Mixed:
8
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The kind of parable that encourages us to re-evaluate the good old days and take a fresh look at the new world we so easily dismiss as decadent. Read full review
90
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Magical, visually exciting, affecting even in its sincere hokeyness, and extremely provocative. Read full review
90
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
Ingenious fantasy. Read full review
90
Dallas ObserverBill Gallo
This uncommonly clever, surprisingly poignant fairy tale packs a social wallop that we're not quite prepared for. Read full review
90
VarietyJoe Leydon
Ingeniously conceived and impressively executed, Pleasantville is a provocative, complex and surprisingly anti-nostalgic parable. Read full review
88
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Giddily inventive. Read full review
88
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Not only is Pleasantville a satire, a fantasy, and a visual marvel, but it's the best kind of feel-good movie. Read full review
80
Mr. ShowbizKevin Maynard
Offers effortless charm, wit, and originality in spades.
80
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
To concentrate on the minor faults of a fable as beautiful and unusual as Pleasantville would be missing the point. Read full review
80
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
I can't get over the nagging feeling that Pleasantville's beguiling spell was cast by a real magician, only to be carelessly broken by the same clumsy charlatan. Read full review
80
TNT RoughCutJennifer Nowitzky
What makes up for the, at times, slow-moving theatrics is the physical beauty of Pleasantville.
80
Film.comJohn Hartl
Charming and imaginative.
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
Delightful as it often is, the picture suffers fom the same structural and thematic tidiness, even smugness, that it nominally opposes. Read full review
75
San Francisco ExaminerWalter Addiego
While amusing and sometimes touching, Pleasantville is far from challenging. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Ross's comedy isn't as inventive as "The Truman Show," which it resembles in some ways, but it explores interesting ideas with nimble humor. Read full review
70
Washington PostRita Kempley
Lacks the edge and depth of a truly inspired work. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyManohla Dargis
The results are charming if rarely thrilling, with outstanding performances from Joan Allen and William H. Macy. Read full review
70
TimeRichard Corliss
An epic-size, largely entertaining parable of repression and awakening. Read full review
70
Film.comRobert Horton
Terrific idea, brilliantly worked out on a technical level.
70
NewsweekJack Kroll
A complex, entertaining film that may have more ideas than it can handle, but certainly has real ideas. Read full review
70
SalonCharles Taylor
It's tough not to respond to the visual cleverness of Pleasantville. Read full review
70
Film.comSean Means
Eventually falls into the same candy-coated trap it's trying to expose. But the fact that a movie can acknowledge the trap exists is a step in the right direction.
67
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
May not be as successful as it is ambitious, but you could do worse than to spend a few hours there. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMarc Caro
More clever than coherent. Read full review
60
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
Funny for about half an hour, Pleasantville thereafter becomes an increasingly lugubrious, ultimately exasperating mix of technological wonder and ideological idiocy. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineSandra Contreras
His (Ross) sophisticated handling -- and the efforts of his able cast, notably the stellar Joan Allen -- produces a surprisingly accomplished cumulative effect. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Technical elegance and fine performances mask the shallowness of a story as simpleminded as the '50s TV to which it condescends; certainly it's got none of the depth, poignance, and brilliance of "The Truman Show," the recent TV-is-stifling drama that immediately comes to mind. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
The movie's simplistic storyline does not match its stunning visual accomplishments: Pleasantville's story is drawn from a palette that's strictly limited to black-and-white. Read full review
50
USA TodayMike Clark
Glum and preachy. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Ross' missive is earnest and well-intentioned, but it's difficult not to feel that his film both runs on too long and overreaches its dramatic resources in its attempt to deliver it. Read full review
50
Film.comTom Keogh
Ross might have been better served by dismissing verisimilitude altogether and going for a real fable-fable to make what is essentially a very simple point about the dangers and rewards of accepting life's beautiful risks.
50
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
When Ross gets serious and grasps for allegorical import, Pleasantville bogs down in mixed ambitions. Read full review
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