The Architect
Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: December 1, 2006 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
47
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
8
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
PremiereAaron Hillis
A riveting urban drama that tackles a myriad of sociopolitical issues -- conflicts of race, sex, class, marriage and politics -- without spreading itself thin. Read full review
70
Village VoiceElla Taylor
In her (Viola Davis) umpteenth turn as a strong ghetto mother, she is the life force that lifts Matt Tauber's workaday movie The Architect into an experience to savor. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
It's a fairly well-written piece and an even better acted one. And these days, when independent films are increasingly the salvation of the serious American dramatic movie, it's heartening to see something like The Architect, which tries to reawaken a major American dramatic tradition and sometimes succeeds. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeMichael Hardy
Perhaps urban-planning solutions are too much to expect from a Friday night at the movies, but in a film this ambitious, the evident lack of thought put into the problem is disappointing. As any architect knows, it's easier to tear down than to build up. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
There are too many characters undergoing life changes in the story for each to be properly developed in an 82-minute movie. But for the most part, the actors get the work done. Read full review
63
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
LaPaglia and Davis deliver top-notch performances that go a long way toward offsetting the material's didacticism. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterFrank Scheck
While it provides a sometimes thoughtful examination of modern sociological issues, The Architect unfortunately succumbs to melodrama in its depiction of its troubled characters. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
Still feels stagebound, inert when it needs to be cinematic. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesCarina Chocano
Despite an intriguing premise in which the architect of a housing project is confronted by a resident-turned-activist who wants his help in getting the place torn down, Matt Tauber's The Architect feels schematic and contrived. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Well-intentioned but obvious drama. Read full review
50
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
It's a compact and symmetrical picture with all its plot points in the right places, but I never found it convincing in the slightest. Read full review
50
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Deteriorates from a potentially enlightening exploration of urban development and class conflict into a preposterous melodrama. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
The Architect wears its heavy social consciousness like an albatross, and Tauber's plodding, earnest direction does little to wean the material away from its stage roots. Read full review
42
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Every character in The Architect is crazily stuccoed with crisis. Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleSteve Davis
A movie designed without a proper foundation -- it feels as though it might crumble at any minute. Read full review
25
New York PostKyle Smith
Though nothing much happens, all of the actors get to do lots of teary close-ups. Read full review
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