The Invisible Circus
Fine Line Features | Release Date: February 2, 2001 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
40
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
13
Negative:
7
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
40
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
Something there is about the '60s that undoes the most intelligent of filmmakers. Read full review
40
Film.comErnest Hardy
It's not bad; it's just completely inconsequential. Read full review
60
Rolling StonePeter Travers
The script hits rough patches, especially when Phoebe and Wolf get it on, but the sisters cut to the heart. Read full review
40
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
The revelations of The Invisible Circus don't justify the quest.
50
SlateDavid Edelstein
The film is overnarrated and in spots overwritten, but Brooks, who's primarily a screenwriter, does well with actors, and he has coaxed an extraordinary performance out of the young Jordana Brewster. Read full review
50
USA TodaySusan Wloszczyna
This joyless coming-of-age travelogue is such a downer that not even breathtaking locales can provide a lift. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleCarla Meyer
Even at her most nihilistic, Cameron Diaz is about as menacing as a boozy college cheerleader. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
It's a shameless don't-hate-me-because-I'm-beautiful-and-impulsive performance (Diaz), and it throws the entire movie out of balance.
58
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Diaz is quite believable in the part, and gets solid support from Brewster, who is even more appealing as the adoring, wounded and somewhat vacuous younger sister. Read full review
38
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
When flashbacks tease us with bits of information, it has to be done well, or we feel toyed with. Here the mystery is solved by stomping in thick-soled narrative boots through the squishy marsh of contrivance. Read full review
30
Village VoiceDennis Lim
A more intuitive writer-director could have extracted a credible study of time-warped bereavement from Jennifer Egan's extensively praised novel, but Adam Brooks's turgid adaptation merely emphasizes the book's stiff contrivances and wobbly characterizations. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesJohn Anderson
There are any number of aspects to The Invisible Circus that simply don't ring true. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
It's a far more interesting film; unfortunately, it's locked inside a maudlin coming-of-age story that barely registers. Read full review
60
Dallas ObserverGregory Weinkauf
This modest project is all about atmosphere and reflection, and, as such, it is successful. Read full review
50
The New York TimesDana Stevens
Unfortunately, The Invisible Circus, which follows Phoebe as she retraces her dead sibling's steps from Paris to Berlin to the coast of Portugal, doesn't so much illuminate Phoebe's confusion as share it. Read full review
38
Boston GlobeJay Carr
A fatally insubstantial film.
38
Chicago TribuneMark Caro
When a movie is structured around the unveiling of secrets, you ought to care what the answers are. But writer-director Adam Brooks (Almost You), never offers any compelling reason to do so.
38
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Director and screenwriter Adam Brooks, adapting Jennifer Egan's novel, doesn't seem to understand what makes a movie relevant. Read full review
50
New York PostLou Lumenick
Yet another murky film about the 1970s that's watchable mostly for its cast rather than the story.
40
SalonCharles Taylor
The Invisible Circus isn't junk. It's carefully, competently made, though with no particular feeling for technique or rhythm. Read full review
30
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
In nearly every scene of her dangerously underwritten role, Diaz has a mouthful of cliches. Read full review
59
Mr. ShowbizKevin Maynard
In its attempts to chart a young girl's journey from innocence to experience, The Invisible Circus ends up having all the heft of a Nancy Drew mystery decked out in a tie-dyed T-shirt and peasant skirt. Read full review
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