The Yards
Miramax Films | Release Date: October 20, 2000 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
58
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 31 Critic Reviews
Positive:
19
Mixed:
10
Negative:
2
Watch Now
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
San Francisco ExaminerG. Allen Johnson
Classic in feel and loaded with sumptuous performances. Read full review
80
Film.comPeter Brunette
Don't be misled by claims that you've seen this one already. You haven't, and you should. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
So strong and secure in its remorseless movement that you buy into what's happening, its people so firmly gripped in the vise of fate and their own character flaws. Read full review
78
Mr. ShowbizMichael Atkinson
May not have enough story to sustain its narrative momentum, but Gray just might be our best shot at a new Coppola. Read full review
75
New York PostJonathan Foreman
Visually accomplished and wonderfully acted. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
A work of incompleteness, might-have-beens and moral subtleties befitting a filmmaker named Gray. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The cast is just right for this mini-"Godfather" yarn, and Gray's filmmaking is generally on target even if it does tend to dawdle along the way. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
It's that ambiguity that makes the film interesting. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Shines whenever we see the performances of Phoenix and Caan. Read full review
70
Village VoiceDennis Lim
Gray's brand of film-buffery manifests itself, simply and irresistibly, as ardent, uncynical movie love. Read full review
70
The New York TimesStephen Holden
For all its incongruities, The Yards is a serious film that strives for a moral complexity and a textural density rarely found in contemporary dramas. Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Gray doesn't condescend to his outer-borough characters and elicits pitch-perfect performances from his ensemble cast. Read full review
70
SlateDavid Edelstein
Most haunting of all is Caan, who has never given a performance this layered. Read full review
67
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
It almost completely falls apart in a tortuous third act and ultimately leaves us feeling strangely empty and dissatisfied. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
With one exception (hint: Faye Dunaway), the actors seem remarkably at home in their milieu. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeJay Carr
By the end, we're left with a feeling of depletion rather than resolution, which may have been Gray's intention. Read full review
63
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Won't startle or surprise you but will satisfy your need to see good actors at work. Read full review
63
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
Caan is so good as a man who watches helplessly as everything he's worked for crumbles around him, that he steals the picture from both Wahlberg and Phoenix, the ostensible stars. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerDesmond Ryan
Instead of the usual contrast of black and white, The Yards offers a vivid palette of grays, and it's a far more rewarding color scheme for a movie. Read full review
60
Dallas ObserverBill Gallo
For Caan's shtick alone, The Yards is worthwhile, but we may also be witnessing the emergence, in Gray, of a young filmmaker who's just starting to find the range. Read full review
60
L.A. WeeklyManohla Dargis
There's so much that's right in it that its blunders are all the more frustrating. Read full review
50
Film.comRobert Horton
A collection of movie situations, recognizable from the films of Coppola and Scorsese, with a less obvious debt to Kazan. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleBob Graham
Keeps sinking into its own grimness. Read full review
50
Washington PostDesson Thomson
A great director's losing battle against a goofy script. Read full review
50
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Entombs its characters so thoroughly in a prison of palpably predestined tragedy that one knows from the outset that the very worst that can happen most certainly will. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
The only thing the movie lacks is a pulse. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
A drama about corruption in the city's transit system that's not only hard boiled but also dipped in egg batter dialogue and deep fried. Read full review
40
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Self-importance sinks this one like a stone.
40
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Gray's direction is a languid thing, moving at roughly the speed of a maimed snail, and the cast never really gels. Read full review
30
TimeRichard Corliss
So muted it disappears from your view even before it recedes from your memory. Read full review
30
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
One more sluggish, artfully framed thriller with Rembrandt lighting set in a New York borough--a kind of picture that's awfully hard to do in a fresh manner. Read full review
More From This Movie

58 Critic Reviews

8.0 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL