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CARNAGEMovie Reviews
Comic drama about two pairs of parents, one of whose child has hurt the other at a public park, who meet to discuss the matter in a civilized manner. Cast:Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, John C. Reilly, Christoph WaltzDirector:Roman PolanskiRelease Date:December 16, 2011DVD Release:March 20, 2012From:Sony ClassicsRating:RLength:1 hr 19 min
Carnage played in key cities to good not great reviews. • Stephen Whitty wrote in the New Jersey Star-Ledger, "What makes the story entertaining is the way this peace summit turns ugly... What makes it a good movie is Polanski's direction." • And Dana Stevens wrote for Slate, "...beautifully crafted... also stiff, talky, and airless, a textbook example of that not-always-true cliché about the unfilmability of theater." More Reviews Below...
Richard Corliss, Time: MODERATE "...the trajectory is a toboggan ride to social anarchy. The only suspense is in how the vehicle will crash and which of the four principals will survive the ride."(See all of Richard Corliss's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 815 words, 09/02/11
Mark Kennedy, Associated Press: OUTSTANDING(cg) "What's so frightening is how universal this plot is.... Foster and Winslet prove eminently worthy, but really the material is the best thing here."(See all of Mark Kennedy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 970 words, 12/15/11
Mara Reinstein, Us Weekly: MODERATE(cg) "Don't waste 80 minutes watching uptight couples bicker in a Brooklyn living room.... Though the premise made for an absorbing play, it grates on the big screen."(See all of Mara Reinstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 70 words, 12/15/11
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...airless, atonal.... Winslet and Waltz gel while Foster and Reilly flounder, unable to make sense of what kind of people they're supposed to be."(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 198 words, 12/12/11
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: MODERATE(cg) "There's nothing terribly wrong with 'Carnage'... But there's nothing trippingly right with it either. What bubbled on stage lacks fizz on screen."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 302 words, 12/16/11
Claudia Puig, USA Today: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "While the talented quartet play these hypocritical characters with finesse, the story grows tiresome, its cynical point made early and often."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 316 words, 12/16/11
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "We have seen this dramatic trajectory before... the point isn't the plot, it's the performances. Here four familiar actors seem ideally cast for their roles."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 677 words, 01/13/12
Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies: EXCELLENT(cg) "...is satisfied to be an absolutely virtuoso piece of cinema craft, and to give its excellent cast multiple opportunities to show off their comedic chops, which are considerable."(See all of Glenn Kenny's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 644 words, 12/12/11
James Berardinelli, Reel Views: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a French dark comedy made with an A-list cast and filmed in English... makes for an interesting diversion. As a full admission motion picture, it's not entirely successful."(See all of James Berardinelli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 799 words, 12/12/11
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (13 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: FAIR "...satire requires a bit more specificity... misses its mark badly... 'Carnage' should not really be a movie. It should be a parlor game."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,022 words, 12/16/11
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) " 'Carnage' is supposed to make us feel trapped.... It's also often very funny and bitingly incisive. Yet, like a visit to friends you don't really care for, you kind of can't wait to leave."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 429 words, 12/16/11
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "...effective because it makes us shake our heads in recognition of behavior we've seen in others and, heaven forbid, even in ourselves."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 674 words, 12/16/11
Lou Lumenick, New York Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "...fast, furious and often funny.... but it never boils over and scalds like 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' which remains the gold standard for a four-person dramatic movie."(See all of Lou Lumenick's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 590 words, 09/30/11
John Anderson, New York Newsday: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a four-character film is inevitably going to be defined by its personnel, and Polanski's choices have taken the show in a decidedly different direction than it took on Broadway."(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 297 words, 01/13/12
David Edelstein, New York Magazine: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...a scabrous, amusing, and thoroughly predictable exercise in exposing the animalistic underbellies of grown-ups pretending to be civilized liberals."(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 621 words, 12/19/11
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "We have seen this dramatic trajectory before... the point isn't the plot, it's the performances. Here four familiar actors seem ideally cast for their roles."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 677 words, 01/13/12
Karina Longworth, Village Voice: MODERATE "The material is ostensibly farce, but Polanski never lets the proceedings skip his carefully laid rails. The film has a precision you can set your watch to."(See all of Karina Longworth's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 718 words, 12/14/11
Mark Olsen, LA Weekly: EXCELLENT "...a roundhouse comedy of manners, gleefully skewering upscale propriety.... Every single shot is masterfully designed for maximum effect."(See all of Mark Olsen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 202 words, 11/03/11
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Think 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?', but then think fun... As dark, dark comedies go, 'Carnage' isn't deep. But it is terrifically entertaining."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 502 words, 01/13/12
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a brilliantly discomfiting comedy of frustration.... 'Carnage' is about the self-centered mentality that allows barbarism to take place."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 519 words, 01/13/12
Kerry Lengel, Arizona Republic: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...as the walls of futile verbosity start to close in, the artificiality of the situation undercuts the dramatic tension... makes its audience feel as trapped as its characters."(See all of Kerry Lengel's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 492 words, 12/30/11
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Foster especially reestablishes her claim as one of our greatest working actors.... Waltz, for his part, reminds you that his Oscar for 'Inglourious Basterds' was no fluke."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 909 words, 01/13/12
Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: VERY GOOD(cg) "What makes the story entertaining is the way this peace summit turns ugly... What makes it a good movie is Polanski's direction."(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 581 words, 12/16/11
Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: EXCELLENT(cg) "...gives Polanski the best opportunity to express his devilish sense of humor in decades, proving again that comedy really is tragedy happening to someone else."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 390 words, 01/12/12
Tom Long, Detroit News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The actors seem to have fun, particularly Foster, working against type as the thoroughly unlikable Penelope. But 'Carnage' isn't nearly as bloody as it thinks it is."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 301 words, 01/13/12
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: MODERATE(cg) "...tart but inconsequential... a study of how people can't help but be themselves, even in a situation where everyone is trying their hardest to put their best self forward..."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 582 words, 01/13/12
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (9 Reviews)
Karina Longworth, Village Voice: MODERATE "The material is ostensibly farce, but Polanski never lets the proceedings skip his carefully laid rails. The film has a precision you can set your watch to."(See all of Karina Longworth's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 718 words, 12/14/11
Eric Eisenberg, Cinema Blend: EXCELLENT(cg) "...the film is fascinating, but it also has one other element going for it: it's hilarious... a film that is uncomfortable, but entertaining to the end."(See all of Eric Eisenberg's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 643 words, 12/16/11
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: VERY GOOD(cg) "Roman Polanski does his best work in close quarters.... The cast delights in the mordant dialogue.... Too bad it gets repetitious..."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 158 words, 01/12/12
Mark Olsen, LA Weekly: EXCELLENT "...a roundhouse comedy of manners, gleefully skewering upscale propriety.... Every single shot is masterfully designed for maximum effect."(See all of Mark Olsen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 202 words, 11/03/11
Nathan Rabin, AV Club: GOOD(cg) "...agreeably, then gratuitously, nasty... we're left not with flawed human beings, but with monsters of banality whose company represents a brutal form of punishment in itself."(See all of Nathan Rabin's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 371 words, 12/15/11
Stephanie Zacharek, Movieline: VERY GOOD(cg) "Is it entertainment? Is it satire? Is it art? It's probably a little of all three, and yet ultimately not quite enough of any.... while it's adequate Polanski, it isn't great Polanski."(See all of Stephanie Zacharek's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,011 words, 12/15/11
Ed Gonzalez, Slant: VERY GOOD(cg) "Polanski's customarily remarkable visual aesthetic gives the couples' war of semantics the feel of something brutalizingly physical..."(See all of Ed Gonzalez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 733 words, 09/28/11
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher: MODERATE(cg) "It's hard for me to see this as anything other than Polanski commenting on criticisms of his own crimes... It leaves a nasty aftertaste..."(See all of MaryAnn Johanson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 418 words, 02/10/12
HIGHBROW PRESS (7 Reviews)
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: WEAK "A claustrophobic quartet for strident voices... I was put off by the acting, or more properly by the spectacle of good actors dutifully following leaden direction..."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 338 words, 12/16/11
A.O. Scott, New York Times: FAIR "...satire requires a bit more specificity... misses its mark badly... 'Carnage' should not really be a movie. It should be a parlor game."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,022 words, 12/16/11
Anthony Lane, New Yorker: MODERATE "The performances are lusty and concerted, but they remain just performances... they may make you feel you should stagger to your feet at the end and applaud. If so, resist."(See all of Anthony Lane's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 331 words, 12/12/11
Bob Mondello, NPR: MODERATE "...you're always aware that you're watching filmed theater -- a scripted pressure-cooker where playability is being allowed to trump plausibility..."(See all of Bob Mondello's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 562 words, 12/15/11
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "...effective because it makes us shake our heads in recognition of behavior we've seen in others and, heaven forbid, even in ourselves."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 674 words, 12/16/11
Dana Stevens, Slate: FAIR "...beautifully crafted... also stiff, talky, and airless, a textbook example of that not-always-true cliché about the unfilmability of theater."(See all of Dana Stevens's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 722 words, 12/16/11
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon: VERY GOOD "...brisk and bracing... Seeing these four actors launching Reza's zingers at each other at high speed is pretty much worth the price of admission all by itself."(See all of Andrew O'Hehir's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 736 words, 12/16/11
MOVIE INDUSTRY (6 Reviews)
Justin Chang, Daily Variety: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...spends 79 minutes observing, and encouraging, the steady erosion of niceties .... while still largely a hoot, it never divorces itself from the talky trappings of the stage..."(See all of Justin Chang's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,045 words, 09/01/11
Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: EXCELLENT "...nasty, deftly acted and perhaps the fastest paced film ever directed by a 78-year-old... fully delivers the laughs and savagery of the stage piece..."(See all of Todd McCarthy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,346 words, 09/01/11
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "...effective because it makes us shake our heads in recognition of behavior we've seen in others and, heaven forbid, even in ourselves."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 674 words, 12/16/11
A.O. Scott, New York Times: FAIR "...satire requires a bit more specificity... misses its mark badly... 'Carnage' should not really be a movie. It should be a parlor game."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,022 words, 12/16/11
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: WEAK "A claustrophobic quartet for strident voices... I was put off by the acting, or more properly by the spectacle of good actors dutifully following leaden direction..."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 338 words, 12/16/11
17.4 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Carnage's reviews are separated by an average 17.4 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.
Carnage (47 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Carnage's reviews cover 85.0% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 26,905 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 572 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 14 Days Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Carnage's reviews on average broke 14 days before 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 Carnage's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
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