The Man Who Cried
Universal Focus | Release Date: May 25, 2001 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
40
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
10
Negative:
7
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
20
Mr. ShowbizKevin Maynard
The film's a vacuous bore.
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
This is an amazingly ambitious movie, not so much because of the time and space it covers (a lot), but because Potter trusts us to follow her heroine through one damn thing after another. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Ricci brings her trademark gravity to the wary Suzie, but Blanchett's role is the dazzler. Read full review
50
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
It's a strange and strangely unaffecting little drama -- but played very flat, with no particular emotional impact sought or achieved. Read full review
40
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
The Man Who Cried is like a Yiddish generational tearjerker told from the perspective of the lost child rather than that of the bereaved parent. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
It feels both big and little, concentrating as it does on the small movements in people's lives and the huge tides of history. Read full review
20
Washington PostDesson Thomson
The driving drama of such a desperate situation is lost in the movie's casting silliness. Read full review
63
USA TodayAndy Seiler
A curious but intriguing movie that leaves you bemused and more than a little confused. Read full review
40
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Potter gets the period details right, but the film itself has long since flown off the rails, miring good intentions in rank soap opera. Read full review
30
VarietyDeborah Young
Sally Potter, who leapt to critical attention with her 1992 adaptation of Virginia Woolf's "Orlando" -- makes a serious misstep with The Man Who Cried. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Melodramatic and strangely moving.
38
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
The result is a movie that talks big, even walks big, but has no scale whatsoever. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeJay Carr
The imagery is lush, but the story is pretty cornball, with an ending that can only be called pure Hollywood. Only the marvelous Cate Blanchett transcends stereotype.
20
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
A star ensemble is preposterously miscast. Read full review
40
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
It's hard to be drawn into a movie if you're never entirely sure what it's supposed to be about, other than about 100 minutes. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Though the film falls short of its aspirations, there's something magical about it. It's a poetic look at transience, betrayal, loss and doom.
50
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
There's only one performer in the movie who looks completely at ease with what he's doing: the horse. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesJan Stuart
There is even less going on between Ricci and Depp here than there was in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," mostly because Potter gives them nothing to play. Read full review
50
Film.comTom Keogh
While we may like what we see, it's impossible to comprehend what much of it means or why we should care. Read full review
50
New Times (L.A.)Luke Y. Thompson
There's nothing particularly wrong with this whole setup; it's just very by-the-numbers. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
A thing of beauty. But then so is a cloud and I wouldn't want to stare at one of those for an hour and half. Read full review
38
New York PostJonathan Foreman
It's a thinly disguised lecture about intolerance, spotted with historical inaccuracies and groaning with dialogue so dreadful that it makes a fine cast look ridiculous again and again. Read full review
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