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BEING FLYNNMovie Reviews
Drama based on a true story about writer Nick Flynn, whose life is disrupted by an unexpected reconnection with his long-absent father. Cast:Robert De Niro, Paul Dano, Olivia Thirlby, Eddie Rouse Jr.Director:Paul WeitzRelease Date:March 2, 2012DVD Release:July 10, 2012From:Focus FeaturesRating:RLength:1 hr. 26 min.
Being Flynn played in key cities to good not great reviews. • Alynda Wheat wrote in People, "The story is uneven, but the full-bodied performances slowly, patiently draw us in..." • And Stephanie Zacharek wrote for Movieline, "...no doubt this is an attempt at something painful and genuine... it's a movie that's always thinking out loud, leaving us waiting, and waiting, for it to take action." More Reviews Below...
Being Flynn Positive Reviews (39 Reviews, reviews below)
Mary Pols, Time: GOOD "...bleak but moving... I'm so used to being not just over Robert De Niro, but actively annoyed by him, that being touched by his portrayal of Jonathan was a shock."(See all of Mary Pols's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,005 words, 03/02/12
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: MODERATE(cg) "...one of the meatier and more serious roles De Niro's had in a while; Dano is dialed down... the disparate performances undermine the cohesion and flow..."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 190 words, 03/01/12
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: MODERATE(cg) "...based on Nick Flynn's memoir 'Another Bullshit Night in Suck City,' never convinces you its central relationship is authentic.... another bullshit indie set in Suck City."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 217 words, 03/02/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "What's admirable about 'Being Flynn' is that it doesn't cave in to the standard Hollywood redemption formulas... It's more complicated than that."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 885 words, 03/09/12
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (12 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: GOOD "There is honest feeling, genuine humanity and real intelligence in this movie, but there is also a sense of caution, of indecisiveness, that undermines its potential power..."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 795 words, 03/02/12
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: WEAK(cg) "Paul Weitz - who did a great job adapting Nick Hornby's 'About a Boy' into an affecting 2002 movie - can't bring the pieces together here."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 442 words, 03/02/12
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times/Chicago Tribune: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...for all its good intentions and talented performers and filmmakers, the film leaves you feeling as if everyone is trying a little too hard. Sometimes, less really is more."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 589 words, 03/02/12
Lou Lumenick, New York Post: WEAK(cg) "...there's the pretentious narration delivered alternately by father and son, which probably worked much better on the printed page."(See all of Lou Lumenick's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 619 words, 03/02/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "What's admirable about 'Being Flynn' is that it doesn't cave in to the standard Hollywood redemption formulas... It's more complicated than that."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 885 words, 03/09/12
Rick Groen, Toronto Globe & Mail: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...the film gets the emphasis wrong. The success that has many fathers is altogether predictable; it's the despicable orphan of failure who has us in his thrall."(See all of Rick Groen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 678 words, 03/16/12
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "We're supposed to be watching the younger man come to terms with his father and himself, but his dad keeps sucking all the air out of the room."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 148 words, 03/15/12
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "Weitz is a gifted visual storyteller... his lost boys and lost adults find themselves in the awkward dance of intimacy."(See all of Carrie Rickey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 580 words, 03/16/12
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: VERY GOOD(cg) "The understated Dano and forceful De Niro feel worlds apart... Their awkward banter is the stiff conversation of near-strangers."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 424 words, 03/23/12
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: VERY GOOD(cg) "The story is gripping, compelling. One wonders what De Niro might have done with such a role 30, 35 years ago. De Niro -- whatever happened to him?"(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 623 words, 03/16/12
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: MODERATE(cg) "Mostly memorable for the sight of a once-great actor rousing himself to a performance the movie itself isn't prepared to handle."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 566 words, 03/09/12
Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: VERY GOOD(cg) "...it briefly brings us into the middle of a homeless hell. But it never lets us forget that we still have our own housekeys, safely in our pocket."(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 647 words, 03/02/12
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: POOR(cg) "Watching 'Being Flynn' is a little like being a family therapist, without getting paid but rather paying for the privilege."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 530 words, 03/09/12
John Hartl, Seattle Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "For a movie that deals with suicide, homelessness and cocaine addiction, writer-director Paul Weitz's latest family drama feels strangely bland."(See all of John Hartl's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 310 words, 03/16/12
Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: EXCELLENT(cg) "...a smart, sweet, pained, and heartfelt film about promise and ruin and hope and despair and human failings and the blessings of connection and creativity."(See all of Shawn Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 434 words, 03/16/12
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: VERY GOOD(cg) "He might be guilty of showboating, but De Niro's knockout performance is a declaration that the star of 'Raging Bull' isn't ready to hang up his gloves."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 315 words, 03/16/12
Katey Rich, Cinema Blend: EXCELLENT(cg) "Weitz allows for real life's quirks while telling a smoothly paced, engaging story that nicely blends its literary roots with a cinematic style."(See all of Katey Rich's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 592 words, 03/01/12
Thomas Page McBee, Boston Phoenix: VERY GOOD(cg) "Weitz's ear for this is pitch-perfect, particularly when it comes to the main tension of the story: is Flynn destined to turn out like his old man?"(See all of Thomas Page McBee's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 619 words, 03/08/12
Tasha Robinson, AV Club: VERY GOOD(cg) "...the film's tricky style, which plays with time, voice, and expectations, goes a long way toward spinning intrigue out of a story that could have been cloying..."(See all of Tasha Robinson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 591 words, 03/01/12
Stephanie Zacharek, Movieline: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...no doubt this is an attempt at something painful and genuine... it's a movie that's always thinking out loud, leaving us waiting, and waiting, for it to take action."(See all of Stephanie Zacharek's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,010 words, 03/01/12
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "We're supposed to be watching the younger man come to terms with his father and himself, but his dad keeps sucking all the air out of the room."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 148 words, 03/15/12
HIGHBROW PRESS (4 Reviews)
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "The premise is promising... I'm not sorry I bought into the drama as I did. I just wish my willingness to believe hadn't been thwarted."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 279 words, 03/02/12
A.O. Scott, New York Times: GOOD "There is honest feeling, genuine humanity and real intelligence in this movie, but there is also a sense of caution, of indecisiveness, that undermines its potential power..."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 795 words, 03/02/12
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...for all its good intentions and talented performers and filmmakers, the film leaves you feeling as if everyone is trying a little too hard. Sometimes, less really is more."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 589 words, 03/02/12
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Peter Debruge, Daily Variety: GOOD "...a moving, if somewhat maudlin adaptation of author Nick Flynn's memoir that takes interesting stylistic chances suggested by the virtuosity of its source."(See all of Peter Debruge's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 904 words, 02/20/12
Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: VERY GOOD "...the film's gratifying equilibrium would seem to lie equally with the carefully balanced structure of Weitz's script and Paul Dano's restrained but open-hearted performance."(See all of Todd McCarthy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,030 words, 02/20/12
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...for all its good intentions and talented performers and filmmakers, the film leaves you feeling as if everyone is trying a little too hard. Sometimes, less really is more."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 589 words, 03/02/12
A.O. Scott, New York Times: GOOD "There is honest feeling, genuine humanity and real intelligence in this movie, but there is also a sense of caution, of indecisiveness, that undermines its potential power..."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 795 words, 03/02/12
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "The premise is promising... I'm not sorry I bought into the drama as I did. I just wish my willingness to believe hadn't been thwarted."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 279 words, 03/02/12
18.5 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Being Flynn's reviews are separated by an average 18.5 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Being Flynn (39 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Being Flynn's reviews cover 83.4% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 21,372 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 548 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Being Flynn Coverage, Volume & Length (39 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 29.9 Hours After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Being Flynn's reviews on average broke 29.9 hours after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Being Flynn's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Being Flynn (39 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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