The We and the I
108 Media | Release Date: March 8, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
65
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
5
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
The New York TimesA.O. ScottMar 7, 2013
To call this thrillingly original, deeply felt movie a coming-of-age story would be to insult it with cliché. It’s much more the story, or rather a series of interlocking, incomplete stories, about what it feels like to be a certain age and to feel caught, as the title suggests, between the desire to be yourself and the longing to fit in. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesMichal OleszczykMar 13, 2013
Upon leaving the theater I had a feeling like I just got to know a bunch of kids: some great, some annoying, but all living lives that extend beyond what little I saw of them on the screen. Read full review
88
Slant MagazineJesse CataldoMar 2, 2013
A delirious representation of incipient personalities in bloom, its form as amorphous and reckless as the vibrant youths it portrays. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzMay 9, 2013
By the end of the ride, we’ll see glimpse of happiness, sadness, joy, heartbreak, maybe even tragedy, if cell phone-shot recollections are to be believed. All bases are covered, in other words, in one late-afternoon ride, a ride Gondry and his cast will make you want to take. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesSheri LindenMar 21, 2013
Moving somewhat obviously toward denouement, the film hits a false note or two. But mainly it's exhilarating in its refusal to make smooth what's messy, inchoate and tenaciously alive. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenMay 17, 2013
Still, credit Gondry, like Tocqueville before him, with at least re-examining tired clichés and scraping the rust off stereotypes. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyMar 5, 2013
Michel Gondry takes an idiosyncratic, funny, unexpectedly poignant snapshot of American youth in The We and the I. Rambling and unpolished, the film has a scrappy charm that springs organically from the characters and their stories rather than being artificially coaxed. Read full review
70
Village VoiceMichelle OrangeMar 5, 2013
At its finest and most affecting, The We and the I is a window onto youth’s forever moments Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubTasha RobinsonMar 6, 2013
The problem with The We And The I: Gondry is focused more on moments than on the film as a whole. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanMar 7, 2013
Most of the performances are as unpolished as they are heartfelt, which is both endearing and distracting. Read full review
60
The GuardianHenry BarnesMar 5, 2013
Gondry's argument – that pack mentality crushes individual expression – follows a similarly predictable route, but there's enough of his signature playfulness (especially in the use of mobile-phone footage to present flashbacks) to keep the journey entertaining. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleWalter AddiegoMar 27, 2013
Because he made "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (2004), there will always be high expectations for a new film by Michel Gondry. But while his new movie The We and the I, is intriguing in fits and starts, it isn't in the same league. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerElizabeth HorkleyMar 21, 2013
It's a fun ride for the most part, with a bumping soundtrack and genuine moments of warmth and heartbreak. But one can't help but wish Gondry had simply let the camera roll, and let the kids speak for themselves. Read full review
40
Time OutDavid FearMar 5, 2013
By the end of the ride, the movie’s messy humanity has officially calcified into After-School Special clichés; given the choice between handcrafted whimsy and heavy-handedness, we’ll take the former, thanks. Read full review
38
New York PostKyle SmithMar 7, 2013
Fake documentaries annoy me — why not put in the effort and deliver the real thing? — and this one is not only aimless and stiff, it also rings false. Read full review
25
The PlaylistJames RocchiMar 5, 2013
Muddled, muffled and mixing empty comedy with empty dramatics, The We and the I is an abject failure. Read full review
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