Touched With Fire
Roadside Attractions | Release Date: February 12, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
62
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
7
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
The New York TimesStephen HoldenFeb 11, 2016
Touched With Fire is an actor’s field day, and both Mr. Kirby and Ms. Holmes boldly meet the challenge of playing bright, high-strung artists struggling with depression. Read full review
75
The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldFeb 18, 2016
You leave Touched with Fire wishing there were a little more to it — the screenplay needed to flesh out Carla and Marco a bit more as people, rather than Bipolar Poets in Love — but undeniably moved. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattFeb 17, 2016
Touched With Fire has something to say about a thorny, serious subject, but the light it shines doesn’t really illuminate anything new. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshFeb 11, 2016
Writer-director Dalio has firsthand experience with bipolar disorder, and his perspective sheds fresh light on the unique ways in which manic-depressive individuals experience love and creativity. Read full review
70
VarietyJoe LeydonFeb 9, 2016
Potent performances by stars Katie Holmes and Luke Kirby, strong contributions by well-cast supporting players and an overall sense of understated verisimilitude offset the predictable aspects of the narrative. Read full review
70
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlFeb 9, 2016
With high spirits and great tenderness, Dalio and his actors stir up what might be the greatest of youthful feelings: that as you get to know someone new, someone whose thinking rhymes with yours, you're also becoming ever more yourself. Read full review
67
The Film StageJared MobarakFeb 25, 2016
It possesses the intensity of manic moments where love is replaced by pure euphoria before devolving into a dangerous depression to balance the scales, but it yearns to remain hopeful with sweet comedy and subtle optimism too. This duality can seem earnest in attempting universality while actually proving the most authentic depiction of them all in retrospect. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerFeb 18, 2016
Dalio’s script doesn’t always flow as smoothly as the camera work, but an air of calm authenticity should leave audiences touched, in a good way. Read full review
63
Washington PostStephanie MerryFeb 18, 2016
Touched With Fire is by no means a perfect film. The production values and melodrama sometimes seem better suited for a small-screen movie. But the drama deserves points for its measured, realistic view of mental illness. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comSusan WloszczynaFeb 12, 2016
In her latest film Touched With Fire, she (Holmes) delivers a beautifully understated and moving performance. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzFeb 18, 2016
Where does creativity come from? And how do the lucky few who are touched by it make it last? Can they? Touched with Fire isn't a perfect study of the question, and it can't really provide a complete answer, probably because there isn't one. But thanks to Holmes and Kirby, it at least asks in a compelling way. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeFeb 9, 2016
The film embraces ambiguity in the end, with a coda that places Marco and Carla on the same level but not in the same place. The scene's unsettled but peaceful mood seems an honest reflection of its characters' lives. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenFeb 17, 2016
There is no doubt the film is exquisitely felt, yet Touched With Fire often feels like a "David and Lisa" redux for the psychotropic drug era. Read full review
50
The PlaylistKimber MyersFeb 11, 2016
Unlike its protagonists, Touched with Fire never reaches either impressive highs or awful lows. It’s a film that is capably made in most respects, particularly in its acting and visuals, but it’s not truly successful. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerFeb 10, 2016
Yet as personal, well-performed, and sometimes lyrical as this material is, Dalio also has a peculiar way of making it all play like a public service announcement—like a feature commissioned for a mental-wellness convention. Read full review
50
New York PostSara StewartFeb 10, 2016
This well-intentioned drama — writer/director Paul Dalio has spoken publicly about his own struggles — veers into a common pitfall of films that portray mental illness: Romanticizing it. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineElise NakhnikianFeb 8, 2016
The film is a thinly dramatized series of arguments against, then ultimately in favor of the medication of bipolar disorder. Read full review
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