Road to Nowhere
Monterey Media | Release Date: June 10, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
59
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
9
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Los Angeles TimesKevin ThomasJun 16, 2011
In its masterful use of evocative imagery and music, Road to Nowhere is flawless. Read full review
90
Chicago ReaderFred CamperAug 4, 2011
His first feature in 21 years, this is also Monte Hellman's finest work, a hall-of-mirrors masterpiece about moviemaking with diversions more complex, and more enticing, than in the director's previous efforts (Ride in the Whirlwind, Two-Lane Blacktop). Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsJun 9, 2011
The tone and subject at times recall David Lynch's "Lost Highway" and "Mulholland Dr.," but the approach is Hellman's own. Read full review
80
VarietyF. X. FeeneyApr 26, 2011
Monte Hellman's first feature film in 21 years is one of his finest and deepest, a twin peak to his 1971 masterpiece, "Two Lane Blacktop." Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzJun 23, 2011
A beautifully made, glorious mess. Read full review
70
The New York TimesStephen HoldenJun 9, 2011
If Mr. Hellman's movie only partly fulfills its promise as a gripping neo-noir mystery, his stylistic hallmarks lend it a singularly haunting atmosphere. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineChuck BowenJun 8, 2011
The script is busy and unconvincing, and much of the acting is lousy, but there are haunting touches. Read full review
60
MovielineMichelle OrangeJun 11, 2011
Despite its tai chi pace and genre-friendly characters, it's almost impossible to tell what's happening in the intriguing, intractable Road to Nowhere. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanJun 10, 2011
The biggest flaw is the casting: only Shannyn Sossamon delivers a performance of even modest depth. Read full review
60
Time OutDavid FearJun 7, 2011
Calling Road to Nowhere a noir is like referring to Hellman's cult classic "Two-Lane Blacktop" (1971) as a road movie: Technically correct genre assignations hardly do justice to either work's existential ennui and elliptical, Euro-jagged style. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertAug 3, 2011
Each scene works within itself on its own terms. But there is no whole here. I've rarely seen a narrative film that seemed so reluctant to flow. Nor perhaps one with a more accurate title. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleDavid LewisJul 21, 2011
Road to Nowhere, a neo-noir in which art imitates true crime (or is it vice versa?), is bound to be a thrill ride for some - and a head-scratcher for others. Read full review
50
New York PostLou LumenickJun 10, 2011
While there are some giggles in the film-within-the-film (also called "Road to Nowhere"), the artsy-fartsy direction and flat-as-a-pancake acting (including a cameo by Variety columnist Peter Bart as himself) invites invidious comparisons to "Mulholland Drive." Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterNatasha SenjanovicApr 26, 2011
Audiences can either fight it, trying to make sense of the shaky plot, or flow along with the film's languid, doomed romance accompanied by the southern poetics of singer-songwriter Tom Russell. Read full review
40
Village VoiceNick PinkertonJun 7, 2011
The screenplay is by Variety editor Steven Gaydos, and it combines a working knowledge of on-set dynamics with corny cinephile in-joking, frequently elevated by the fresh evidence of Hellman's craft in the tranquil, largely nocturnal atmosphere, until the closing-credits song ruins everything. Read full review
40
Boxoffice MagazineTodd GilchristApr 26, 2011
Fans of the filmmaker should thrill at the prospect of a new project, but the film's lackadaisical pacing and preoccupation with pulling the rug out from under the audience. Read full review
30
The New YorkerAnthony LaneJun 6, 2011
Road to Nowhere is a dead end. Most of the performances are carved from balsa wood. [13 & 20 June 2011, p. 129]
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