44
Metascore
26 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittChristian Science MonitorDavid SterrittTaylor is utterly believable even when the screenplay (from an Anne Tyler novel) is too self-consciously quirky, and Pearce nicely portrays the guy she obsesses over.
- The casting of Taylor gives the film a powerful center, a bright light that keeps it on course.
- 60L.A. WeeklyElla TaylorL.A. WeeklyElla TaylorStruggles valiantly to keep its head above whimsy, and though the movie finally succumbs to an excess of heartwarming, it's a promising college try from a first-time writer-director.
- 50The New York TimesDana StevensThe New York TimesDana StevensA Slipping-Down Life has a worn, scruffy feeling. It gazes lovingly at vintage clothes and battered old cars as if they were the visible signs of authenticity, wishing that its morose, disconnected inhabitants could somehow be touched with the same elusive quality.
- 42Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumTaylor does that thing she does when she whispers as if she has just discovered speech; Pearce enjoys himself doing his own singing, and embracing grunge.
- 40VarietyJoe LeydonVarietyJoe LeydonA curiously bland drama that fails to fulfill the promise of its early scenes.
- 40The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe two leads help create an atmosphere of quiet surety, but they can't elevate the film beyond its self-imposed smallness.
- 40Village VoiceLaura SinagraVillage VoiceLaura SinagraWhile the camera unsuccessfully courts Southern gothic humor, caressing a hodgepodge of retro-fetish knickknacks, the actors' knowing glances seem to look beyond the confines not only of the town, but of the film itself.
- 40TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghTV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghPearce can sing, but Drum's trademark "speaking out" -- free-associative ramblings that recall Jim Morrison of the Doors at his most embarrassingly pretentious -- falls far short of the hypnotic effect Tyler describes.
- 38USA TodayClaudia PuigUSA TodayClaudia PuigA sluggish, tedious film about lost souls living dead-end lives in a dead-end town. Their actions often defy rationality.