Songcatcher
Lions Gate Films | Release Date: June 15, 2001 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
63
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
21
Mixed:
4
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
Whenever the movie threatens to become just another visit to hillbilly-land, the music starts up and the film's gentle, irresistible wonder takes hold. Songcatcher is a film very much worth catching.
75
Philadelphia InquirerDesmond Ryan
Greenwald's film is filled with an infectious love for the region's songs. It could hardly be otherwise, given the level of musical talent she recruited for Songcatcher. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Has enough virtues to make it successful, including an unusual story and some fine acting, especially by the powerful Janet McTeer. Read full review
70
VarietyDennis Harvey
Unfolds at a leisurely but enjoyable pace, its dramatic contrivances never pushed too hard. Read full review
75
New York PostJonathan Foreman
Essential viewing for anyone who cares about American popular music and its roots.
70
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
Best seen as a performance movie, featuring music (by Iris DeMent and Taj Mahal, among others) too wonderful to be overpowered by director Maggie Greenwald's plodding direction and leaden screenplay. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
It may not get top billing, but glorious music is the star of Songcatcher, an intriguing and often lovely film. Read full review
90
TV Guide MagazineFrank Lovece
In a film mercifully free of the usual warm and fuzzy movie sentimentality, director Maggie Greenwald and her fine cast shatter most hillbilly stereotypes. Read full review
30
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
A good subject has been ill-served by Ms. Greenwald's cliched script and clumsy direction.
70
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Songcatcher is a sweet, lyrical ode to rural America in the early 1900's. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
Greenwald is fine at creating the texture of early mountain life but loses her footing by embracing several plot points at once. Read full review
80
New Times (L.A.)Jean Oppenheimer
Combines strong feminist sensibilities with surprisingly old-fashioned melodrama. Read full review
40
Village VoiceMichael Atkinson
The commonest sort of cultural pasteurization. Read full review
40
SalonCharles Taylor
Songcatcher is like an "All Things Considered" report on "a vibrant and lasting folk tradition" that goes on for two hours. It's so relentlessly, goddamn worthy that you long for some cheapness and dirt, some energetic pop trash to liven it up. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Perhaps too laden with messages for its own good, but it has many moments of musical beauty, and it's interesting to watch Janet McTeer. Read full review
80
Rolling StonePeter Travers
McTeer and the transporting music hold you in thrall. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
For a film expressly about an underappreciated culture, there are some boulder-size cliches rolling down these hills. Read full review
80
Washington PostDesson Thomson
The haunting beauty of the music, and the people who produce it – that's the chapter and verse of this story. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeJay Carr
Somewhat sanitized but gorgeous Americana, with another impressive turn by McTeer.
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerPaula Nechak
The music is truly the thing in Songcatcher and it's awesome, haunting stuff. Read full review
63
USA TodayMike Clark
With a half-dozen characters sorting out life's woes, the pacing is a couple of beats faster than languorous — just enough to sustain one's interest. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
This is not just a musicologist's dream; it's our dream, too. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
There are mountain tunes as powerful as moonshine to be enjoyed in Songcatcher -- but there's also a mighty mushy heap of corn pone to be swallowed. Read full review
11
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
It's all infuriatingly simplistic, and the performances help matters little. Quinn and McTeer are wholly uncompelling. Read full review
90
Washington PostStephen Hunter
It's a highly professional project complete with exquisite production details and superb actors, yet its subject matter is so far out of the mainstream, it feels almost radical. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneLoren King
Any film about the folk tradition is required to have a stellar soundtrack, and Songcatcher does not disappoint. Read full review
60
Mr. ShowbizKevin Maynard
For the most part, it's when the women do the singing -- that Songcatcher really comes alive. Read full review
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