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Positive:
33
Mixed:
1
Negative:
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Critic Reviews
Nov 3, 2014
Season 1 Review:
Near flawless in execution while filled with rarely seen intelligence and complexity, the HBO miniseries Olive Kitteridge plumbs the depths of the seemingly mundane and finds cruelty, resentment, dogged insecurity and finally, if not hope, then some level of honesty about life’s attraction.
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Nov 3, 2014
Season 1 Review:
With her pitiless, clear-eyed gaze, McDormand is a marvel as Olive, capturing not only the character’s indomitable spirit but her fears as Olive’s world begins to crumble.... The film, directed by Lisa Chodolenko, recalls those ’70s films like “A Woman Under the Influence” and “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” that weren’t afraid to take the full measure of a woman’s life.
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Nov 3, 2014
Season 1 Review:
The program works so well as curdled Americana, you might not be inclined to peel back the other layers, much less delve into what’s happening at a storytelling level (which is even more impressive); but that’s a part of what makes Olive Kitteridge so pleasurable: its unobtrusive ambition.
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Uncle BarkyOct 30, 2014
Season 1 Review:
McDormand's portrayal of Olive Kitteridge is even more accomplished, in turns aggravating and affecting while always seeming just right. Jenkins is likewise superb.... This is a nuanced, slowly simmering look at bent and spindled lives molded by previous bent and spindled lives. The bright spots are there, but never glowing. Self-realization is the payoff.
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Oct 30, 2014
Season 1 Review:
Olive Kitteridge explores Tolstoy’s notion that every family is unhappy in its own way, making the particular unhappiness of the Kitteridges universal through a magical combination of great direction, writing and performances. You’ll not soon forget Olive Kitteridge, the woman or the mini-series.
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Oct 31, 2014
Season 1 Review:
The production is exceedingly well put together and boasts a fine cast that also includes Ann Dowd (pivotal figure in HBO's melancholy post-Rapture series “The Leftovers”) and “Breaking Bad” co-star Jesse Plemons. McDormand is nothing less than extraordinary in the title role.
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TV Guide MagazineOct 31, 2014
Season 1 Review:
Director Lisa Cholodenko (The Kids Are All Right) and Emmy-winning writer Jane Anderson (The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom) take their time, over four engrossing episodic hours, to create a full, believable world around Olive.... McDormand is wondrous, matched by a splendid supporting cast.
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RogerEbert.comOct 30, 2014
Season 1 Review:
Few films have tapped into the seemingly conflicting emotions that exist in the human soul at exactly the same moment as HBO’s stellar Olive Kitteridge, a delicate, beautiful mini-series starring Frances McDormand, Richard Jenkins, Rosemarie DeWitt, Peter Mullan, Bill Murray and more.
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Nov 3, 2014
Oct 31, 2014
Season 1 Review:
It takes some time to sink into the story--Olive (Frances McDormand, “Fargo”) herself is cold and aloof--but by Monday’s second part of the miniseries as viewers see the characters age through a 25-year period, there’s a relatability that starts to sink in as viewers come to recognize the damage one generation can inflict on the next.
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Oct 31, 2014
Season 1 Review:
The feature format is better suited to heroes with clearly defined goals and a fixed timeframe in which to achieve them, whereas Olive Kitteridge has more existential concerns on its mind. That may lead to viewer attrition, as auds tune in for the first hour but may not be necessarily hooked to the end, though each successive episode takes those who remain deeper into the family’s private world.
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Oct 30, 2014
Oct 29, 2014
Season 1 Review:
As great as both McDormand and Jenkins are in the lead roles (both are early Emmy frontrunners), their story ultimately feels too repetitive--the miniseries plays as a collection of anecdotes designed to make the same point over and over and over again--to justify the running time.
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