The Man from Elysian Fields
Samuel Goldwyn Films | Release Date: September 27, 2002 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
57
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 26 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
12
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
This is a grown-up movie, in its humor and in its wisdom about life. You need to have lived a little to understand the complexities of Tobias Allcott, who is played by James Coburn with a pitch-perfect balance between sadness and sardonic wit. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
A shimmering fable of innocence and experience set in contemporary Los Angeles and Pasadena (its title is a nod to Virgil's "Aeneid"). Phillip Jayson Lasker's tartly knowing script, with the kind of witty dialogue that's all but vanished from American movies, recalls Hickenlooper's "The Low Life." Read full review
80
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Jagger the actor is someone you want to see again. Eat your heart out, Madonna. Read full review
80
New Times (L.A.)Gregory Weinkauf
Sharp, smart and robustly engaging film.
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Until its conventional third act, Elysian Fields takes surprising turns. Garcia, Coburn and particularly Jagger surprise throughout. Read full review
70
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Less a fantasy than a somber, enveloping mood piece, which is a large part of what makes it so strangely, irrationally compelling. Read full review
70
VarietyTodd McCarthy
A fine cast further illuminates a felicitous script. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Is it just me or is Mick Jagger turning into John Hurt? Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Craggy oldsters Mick Jagger and James Coburn steal the show from the young uns in The Man From Elysian Fields, a mostly entertaining twist on the Faust story about a writer who sells himself cheap. Read full review
63
New York PostMegan Lehmann
Suffers from an air of frosty detachment and a disappointingly stiff performance from Jagger, who also provides an unnecessary voice-over narration. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
It's a movie that starts off nicely, offers two marvelous performances (by James Coburn and Mick Jagger) and then slowly, unaccountably loses itself. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
It's Jagger's bone-dry, mournfully brittle delivery that gives the film its bittersweet bite. Michael Des Barres and Anjelica Huston make the most of their supporting roles. Read full review
60
The New York TimesDana Stevens
By the end, after an hour and a half of wondering -- sometimes amusedly, sometimes impatiently -- just what this strenuously unconventional movie is supposed to be, you discover that the answer is as conventional as can be. Read full review
60
L.A. WeeklyJohn Patterson
Despite its dry wit and compassion, the film suffers from a philosophical emptiness and maddeningly sedate pacing, and, in the end, the only aspect of the movie that truly commands attention is Jagger's desperately inexpressive acting, which hasn’t improved one iota since "Ned Kelly." Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
The cast--including Julianna Margulies, Olivia Williams, James Coburn, and Anjelica Huston--keeps this pretty watchable, and casting Mick Jagger as director of the escort service was inspired. Read full review
60
Film ThreatChris Gore
Smart and full of sharply drawn characters and wonderfully snappy dialogue. Read full review
60
SalonStephanie Zacharek
Mick Jagger acts his age, finally, in an entertaining but ultimately disappointing fable. Read full review
58
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Wonderfully cast but underwhelming and never especially believable. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldMarta Barber
Has an elegant feel, with beautiful shots on the beach and engaging camera work. If only Philip Jayson Lasker's writing could match that. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Somewhere in this movie, amid the ponderous exchanges and unfortunate O. Henry-style coincidences, there's American tragedy. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
A pompous and garbled parable about how terribly, terribly difficult it is to make it as a creative artist, and how important it is to maintain high standards of haberdashery. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
A listless, predictable effort, occasionally redeemed by witty lines and charismatic performers. Read full review
50
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
May not be perfect but must be given credit for all that it does right. Read full review
33
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
Not much in The Man From Elysian Fields resembles life on Earth, but there are a few moments with Jagger that feel desperate and human -- stuff from another movie entirely, in other words.
30
Washington PostDesson Thomson
From the get-go, the story remains bogged down in its rather limited morass. Read full review
20
Village VoiceMichael Atkinson
Manure of a relatively clover-scented variety, George Hickenlooper's The Man From Elysian Fields is at primal odds with itself. Read full review
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