Sunshine State
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: June 21, 2002 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
69
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews
Positive:
22
Mixed:
10
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Creates a cinematic mosaic of American lives unprecedented in its range, balance, subtlety and even-handedness. Read full review
90
Washington PostDesson Thomson
The scenes unfold with such unhurried delicacy, and the characters are so intriguing, you can ignore the editorial bluntness and savor the smaller, sweeter details. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleSteve Davis
The dialogue is scattered with so many beautiful gems that conversations glitter. Read full review
88
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Few white directors depict racial interaction in a thoughtful, non-exploitative way, but Sayles has always been one of them. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Sayles' film moves among a large population of characters with grace, humor and a forgiving irony. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Visually, even compared to Sayles' own best work, it's somewhat prosaic - and dramatically, it suffers from the fact that its two main characters are kept so far apart. But the screenwriting and the cast redeem this film. Read full review
83
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Although it's often uneven and rambling, its sum conveys an unusual richness and satisfaction. While most films these days are about nothing, this film seems to be about everything that's plaguing the human spirit in a relentlessly globalizing world. Read full review
80
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
Part of the joy of watching a John Sayles film is to see how he knits together so many people and stories into a densely layered, always absorbing whole. Read full review
80
New Times (L.A.)Luke Y. Thompson
Almost two and a half hours long, and mostly consists of calm conversations. But don't be deterred, or you'll miss out on a study of character, class and changing times that puts Robert Altman's stodgy "Gosford Park" to shame.
80
Rolling StonePeter Travers
You can feel the heat that ignites this gripping tale, and the humor and humanity that root it in feeling. Sayles knows how to use his social conscience: He lets it rip. Read full review
75
New York PostJonathan Foreman
Far more interesting and intelligent than anything coming out of the studios. It fairly brims with superb performances by a terrific cast - you simply can't take your eyes off the female leads, Edie Falco and Angela Bassett. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
What Sunshine State lacks in momentum, it makes up for with a Dickensian sprawl of characters -- 50 in all -- who possess the depth and humanity that has become a Sayles trademark. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Rings true for the most part, and explores human nature - leashed and unleashed - in ways that resonate. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyHazel-Dawn Dumpert
If Sayles had maneuvered these stories and performances into even a shade more sentimentality or gravitas, the weight would have collapsed them like a house of cards. As it is, they breathe easily, delicately into each other. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Sayles' films are always of interest, and even though the partly cloudy Sunshine State is not the writer-director at his best, even his letdowns often have more to offer than other people's successes. Read full review
70
Village VoiceJessica Winter
The whole of Sunshine State is less than the sum of its parts, but the parts are often lovely, and always true. Read full review
70
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
Unlike in similar past efforts, Sayles never finds a way to bring it all together. Individual moments of considerable impact alternate with stretches that go nowhere. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
The usual Sayles mix of torpor and talent prevails here.
70
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Like "Lone Star," this group portrait mourns a rapidly vanishing American landscape while acknowledging that the past, free of corporate homogeneity though it may have been, is never the unspoiled paradise it appears in retrospect. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Sayles is clearly aiming to construct a multilevel character study and sociological portrait, but too often the film lapses into a lecture. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
These are valid ideas, but they don't always arise organically out of the script, and can seem clumsily expressed. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Though his latest, Sunshine State, shows Sayles usual literary care, it's a very slight work compared with such cinematic tomes as "Lone Star," "Matewan" and "Eight Men Out."
60
The New YorkerDavid Denby
Has some of the wittiest writing Sayles has ever done for the movies and some of the best acting he's ever coaxed out of his performers, and the picture is a pleasant, if unexciting, experience. [8 July 2002, p.84]
60
VarietyRobert Koehler
Falco, light years from "The Sopranos," is exquisitely vulnerable and her scenes play well with Hutton, in his finest role in years as a good man who knows he's sold out. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJ. R. Jones
When Sayles has a compelling story line he's one of America's finest (Matewan, Lone Star), but when he doesn't he can be dull and unfocused. Filling out the latter category is this ensemble drama about piracy, both personal and economic, on an island off the coast of northern Florida. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Like a blue plate special at a theme diner, Sunshine State comes with a lot of overdone side dishes thrown on the table at the same time. Read full review
50
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
The only gold in Sunshine State comes from its three female stars.
50
Boston GlobeSam Allis
There is almost no drama, nor any surprise, in this long effort.
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Despite his fascinating subject and an impressive cast -- Sayles lets his story drift in too many directions, as if he'd lost his Florida road map somewhere along the way during his travels. Read full review
50
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
It's ambitious, sharply observed and spectacularly well-acted like so much of Sayles' canon. But it's also overstuffed and underdeveloped. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
An attempt at an epic. Sayles assembles a big cast and creates a mosaic of interweaving characters and story lines. But the stories are bland, the connections are incidental and the dramatic payoff is nonexistent. Read full review
40
SalonStephanie Zacharek
Sodden and glum, even in those moments where it's supposed to feel funny and light. It makes you feel trapped and flailing as the minutes tick by. If it encapsulates anything, it's the experience of drowning, not waving. Read full review
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