Quid Pro Quo
Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: June 13, 2008 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
55
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 13 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
6
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
VarietyJustin Chang
A strikingly original and provocative first feature from scribe-helmer Carlos Brooks. Read full review
75
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
The story eventually resolves itself a little too neatly, but it never devolves into a freak show or a fable, thanks in large part to Farmiga and Stahl's deft, quirky performances. Read full review
75
New York PostLou Lumenick
This warped masochistic cousin to David Cronenberg's "Crash" - not to be confused with the Oscar winner of the same name - is well worth seeing for Farmiga's stunning performance. Read full review
75
PremiereJenni Miller
Fans of strange love stories and detective thrillers would do well to investigate this indie gem. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
The first half of Quid Pro Quo is among the most jaw-dropping things I"ve ever seen: Who knew there was a closeted subculture of people pretending to be paraplegics? Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesCarina Chocano
Stahl and Farmiga give layered, restrained performances that keep what might have been a schlock fest with an improbable twist ending from devolving into trashiness. Instead, Brooks and his actors manage to render an involving and thoughtful story from some pretty dubious material. Read full review
50
Village VoiceJean Oppenheimer
Farmiga is captivating, Stahl less so--although a bigger problem is writer/director Carlos Brooks's script, which sets up one story, then shifts gears into something more personal and psychologically specific. That's normally a plus, deepening the viewer's sense of involvement, but the transition here is bumpy and, ultimately, unconvincing. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
Stahl quietly plays the straight man, giving the usually skillful Farmiga plenty of room to overact with abandon; she plays her character as one part Rosanna Arquette in David Cronenberg's "Crash" to two parts Natalie Portman's magical life-saving pixie in "Garden State." Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Quid Pro Quo, a bizarre but audacious debut feature by Carlos Brooks. Read full review
50
The New York TimesStephen Holden
After spinning out metaphors of paralysis and eroticism in its characters' feverish imaginations, Quid Pro Quo decides at the last minute that it has to explain everything. The moment it pulls away from the fantastic, it lands with a thud. Read full review
42
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
If you were a fan of David Cronenberg's "Crash," based on J.G. Ballard's book about people who get sexually excited by auto accidents, you might just be the target audience for Quid Pro Quo, a perverse psychological drama. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
While a good director can spin a worthy movie from any subject, first-timer Carlos Brooks does surprisingly little with the jaw-dropper of a topic he chose. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleReyhan Harmanci
Quid Pro Quo, billed as a "neo-noir" about a paraplegic journalist drawn into a shadowy world of disability fetishists, is choked by allegory and pretension. It's an O. Henry tale gone wrong. Read full review
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