Sometimes Always Never
Eagle Films | Release Date (Streaming): June 12, 2020 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
67
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Los Angeles TimesKevin CrustJun 11, 2020
There’s a terrific ensemble — including Ella-Grace Gregoire as a girl Jack has a crush on — but it’s Nighy who will have you enthralled. He delivers a subtle, nuanced performance that allows the actor to shine while in full support of his costars. Read full review
80
The TelegraphTim RobeyOct 3, 2019
The hesitancy of the storytelling, with its comforting lulls and odd delays, is a funny sort of boon. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawOct 3, 2019
This film is a distinct, articulate pleasure. Read full review
80
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeOct 3, 2019
The precision in the shot composition is mirrored in the storytelling – there’s an unassuming elegance that balances the eccentricity of a film that makes something as mundane as Scrabble into a taut dramatic device. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperJun 11, 2020
Director Carl Hunter infuses Sometimes Always Never with creative visual touches, whether he’s using graphics to illustrate certain Scrabble words, or shooting a poignant scene through a patterned glass door, so we feel the emotions of the character in question just through the movement of his silhouette. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineJake ColeJun 9, 2020
The film unites its seemingly disparate strands of somber drama and deadpan comedy into a surprisingly cohesive whole. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Anne T. DonahueOct 3, 2019
The film is also peppered with animation, mid-century kitsch and a touch of whimsy, making Sometimes Always Never seem more like an intimate stage production than an exercise in cinematic self-seriousness. Read full review
75
Original-CinLiam LaceyOct 3, 2019
Sometimes, the script is very funny; always, it tries too hard to please; and it never lets you forget that it has been calculated down to a smirk and a teardrop. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicShaena MontanariJul 8, 2020
On the surface, this strange film could leave you thinking that not much actually happened during its 91-minute runtime, but it’s the idiosyncratic emotional journey, expertly portrayed by Nighy and the ensemble, rather than the destination that sticks with you. Read full review
70
VarietyJessica KiangJun 17, 2020
Riley, Nighy, Lowe and Agutter all find some truthful, moving place to work from, despite the ever-present threat of being upstaged by a kitschy sconce or an eye-jangling turquoise-and-pink color scheme. Read full review
70
TheWrapCarlos AguilarOct 4, 2019
Strong casting keeps the film thriving through its many winding subplots. Read full review
67
The PlaylistAsher LubertoJun 11, 2020
Though the visuals are a huge draw, having a variety of actors with palpable chemistry brings Sometimes Always Never to life. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyJun 12, 2020
Nighy is, of course, exceptional in fleshing out what could have been merely a set of irascible tics and traits. And the Andersonisms, while not particularly exhilarating, are not thematically inapt. But this is a film best consumed by those who don’t mind “slight.” Read full review
63
Boston GlobeMark FeeneyJun 11, 2020
This extremely dry film mixes humor and melancholy to distinctive, if muffled, effect. Take away the muffled part, and that’s very Nighy, too. In being winningly understated and sometimes maddeningly stylized, Sometimes Always Never is a bit like Alan. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreOct 1, 2019
Sometimes Always Never has enough outside-looking-in charm, and Nighy, to make it nice fit to any Anglophile filmgoer. Read full review
60
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternJun 18, 2020
What the film does sustain, and quite remarkably, considering its serious theme, is a delicately comic tone. That’s due in large measure to the screenplay by Frank Cottrell Boyce. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinOct 3, 2019
Whimsical and wistful, if occasionally a little too self-consciously kooky, British comedy-drama Sometimes Always Never constructs a pleasant portrait of a mildly unhappy family living in the English northwest. Read full review
60
EmpireKambole CampbellOct 3, 2019
Despite strong performances and a witty script, Sometimes Always Never lays on the homage a little too thick for its own good, shortchanging itself by imitating a particularly idiosyncratic style. Read full review
42
IndieWireDavid EhrlichJun 10, 2020
As with most films that are eventually suffocated by their own eccentricities, Sometimes Always Never is strange enough to hold our attention for a while. Read full review
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