XX/XY
IFC Films | Release Date: April 11, 2003 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
52
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
11
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Emotional presence and a sophisticated understanding of commitment-phobia (as something other than a comedic punchline or an excuse for sex scenes) distinguishes this intense, contained drama, as does the unforced, sensual, and sensitive cinematography of Uta Briesewitz. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Ruffalo plays the character with that elusive charm he also revealed in "You Can Count on Me." Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Ray Conlogue
Rarely does a fine movie like this have so awkward a title, or so off-putting an opening scene. But there is method in both these madnesses, and a searchingly intelligent and moving story to be told. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
Doesn't necessarily offer anything new to the male/female dynamic, but it refuses to let Coles off the hook with an easy epiphany and a painless happily ever after. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneRobert K. Elder
What makes XX/XY so engaging; it attempts to define love through broken characters who know neither themselves nor the meaning of love. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
The movie is really a sexy, emotionally true portrait of a handful of people wrestling with their impulses and trying to find their way to happiness. Read full review
70
Film ThreatTim Merrill
It may appear clichéd in the telling, but Chick has no use for the glib irony and rampant pop-culture sampling which has already dated "Reality Bites" and its ilk. Read full review
70
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Chick agreeably captures the feel and flow of on-the-move young professionals in New York. Read full review
70
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
Though initially off-putting, Chick's distanced direction pays off as XX/XY goes along. Read full review
60
Washington PostStephen Hunter
Each moment feels real, but the movie wears you out in some way. High naturalism is just as much a stylization as High Stylization. The groping nature of the conversations comes to feel as artificial as iambic pentameter. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
I was engaged by Chick's characters...But that point passed pretty soon after the credits rolled, and nothing has come back to haunt me since. Read full review
60
Dallas ObserverBill Gallo
This unstinting look at growing up in the 1990s never pulls its punches. Bridging the angst of Generation X and the uncertainties of Generation Y, Chick reveals the romantic traumas, career screwups and self-absorbed fantasies of a group of eastern college grads. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Some moments in XX/XY ring true, and the honesty exposed is revelatory. But, like some relationships, this drama can be tough to endure. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleSteve Davis
The cast is an impossibly beautiful bunch of actors who could hold your attention even if they spoke nothing but gibberish, which sometimes is the case in the pillow-talk dialogue provided by director/screenwriter Chick. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
An ongoing problem is the complete lack of chemistry between the leads. Read full review
40
The New York TimesStephen Holden
A sour portrait of Gen X yuppies who settle for adult lives that appear at once soulless and overprivileged. Read full review
40
L.A. WeeklyHazel-Dawn Dumpert
The young filmmaker clearly needs to experience a bit more of la vraie vie before his own observations can take in more than the clumsy romantic feints and parries of early adulthood. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Writer/director Austin Chick falls into the timeworn trap of making an immature, irritating film about immature, irritating characters. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesManohla Dargis
It's an overly familiar setup played out by overly familiar types but, curiously, what invests XX/XY with its tension is that there's no sense that Austin Chick, the film's capable young director and writer, knows what he feels about any of this. Read full review
40
EmpireOlly Richards
The dialogue is intelligent, but the humourlessness -- and the fact that most of the cast could use a good slap -- results less in involving drama and more in the viewer being held hostage in a 90-minute therapy session for the well-dressed and narcissistic. Read full review
38
Boston GlobeTy Burr
A blandly filmed and subtext-heavy talkathon that wastes a game cast on a group of characters about whom it's almost impossible to care. If this were a cocktail party, you'd be back home with a good book already. Read full review
30
Washington PostNicole Arthur
Anyone who's ever sat through a Neil LaBute film knows you can make a movie in which all the characters are unsympathetic, but this trio is uninteresting, to boot. Read full review
30
Village VoiceLaura Sinagra
A movie that's two-thirds flashback (and could have been called "Ex, Ex, Ex, Why?"). Read full review
25
New York PostMegan Lehmann
It's awkward, listless and fails to reach any sort of climax. Read full review
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