Waking the Dead
USA Films | Release Date: March 24, 2000 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
59
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
11
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
One of the most powerful romances of recent years, it is as generous as they come. Read full review
100
TNT RoughCutBilge Ebiri
Gordon directs with a graceful precision and shorthand that makes the story seem simple, though it's anything but. Indeed, it's fascinatingly complex, juggling time periods and political, mystical, and psychological themes without ever losing touch with the core message: Love conquers all.
90
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
It is a film of uncommon intelligence and rigor that illuminates a complex era, and the romance at its center is also one of exceptional passion and honesty. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
It's almost startling to see a film that believes in itself and its characters so deeply. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
A film with a real depth, resonance and texture, and room for an ensemble of supporting characters. Read full review
75
Baltimore SunMilton Kent
Gordon deserves credit for at least attempting to deal with political themes, and the tension isn't bad either. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Offbeat tale, which tackles weighty themes. But sentimentality overtakes intelligence. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
It's a romantic weepie. Read full review
75
New York PostJonathan Foreman
Structurally flawed, occasionally shlocky, but written with unusual intelligence and subtlety. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyF. X. Feeney
Catches the volatile beauty of what it was to be alive and politically aware in the early '70s with a rare accuracy and depth. Read full review
70
Washington PostRita Kempley
This wonderfully acted romance brings the touching fantasy "Truly, Madly, Deeply" to mind. Read full review
70
Dallas ObserverGregory Weinkauf
A pensive, reflective movie, more or less equal in tone to Ang Lee's "The Ice Storm," yet, because of its temporal breadth and tight emotional focus, it packs a more intimate punch. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Has a good heart and some fine performances, but is too muddled at the story level to involve us emotionally. Read full review
63
San Francisco ExaminerWesley Morris
As involved as Crudup and Connelly beseech you to be with this story, their very youthfulness, their nagging lack of adulthood, keeps the film from being anything more credible than a tight grad-school tryst. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Its virtues are still genuine and durable enough to resist the blandishments of hype. Read full review
58
Mr. ShowbizMichael Atkinson
The movie is a shambles, a rambling, disjointed love tragedy with a story that amounts to little more than a mess of fade-outs, sloppy montages, and dramatic sketches. Read full review
50
Film.comPeter Brunette
Its evocation of the politics and Zeitgeist of the late '60s is so right on, as we used to say, that it left me stunned. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeJay Carr
It's too fragmented and diffuse to ever bring its parts together in any really satisfying manner. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Enough to anesthetize the living. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMarc Caro
By the time of Fielding's and Sarah's final, gooey encounter, she's not the only one who needs waking. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
The film is one of the more adult offerings out there in a spring movie season peppered with martial arts and superheroes. It may be just what you're looking for. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
A tale of conscience lost and found becomes little more than a smart but tepid ghost story for idealists and '60s survivors, and not a terribly spooky one at that. Read full review
50
Film.comElizabeth Weitzman
Crudup tends to take average parts in standard genre films and turn them into something special. Read full review
50
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Forever stumbling over itself and breaking its own spell. Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Gorden teases out some affecting scenes, but not enough to carry a film that promises more than it delivers.
33
Portland OregonianBob Campbell
As so often happens, politics and religion add up to a double dose of self-righteousness. Read full review
25
USA TodayStaff [Not Credited]
Spanning the counterculture '70s to the more career-oriented '80s and doing justice to neither decade, this event-heavy adaptation of Scott Spencer's novel may give viewers whiplash. Read full review
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