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COLLABORATORMovie Reviews
Drama comedy about a famous playwright who is taken hostage by an ex-con neighbor when he returns to his childhood home to visit his mother. Cast:Martin Donovan, David Morse, Olivia Williams, Melissa Auf der Maur, Julian Richings, Katherine Helmand, Eileen RyanDirector:Martin DonovanRelease Date:July 6, 2012DVD Release:March 5, 2013From:Tribeca FilmsLength:1 hr. 27 min.
Collaborator played in limited release to mixed reviews. • Norman Wilner wrote in Toronto Now, "Donovan gets a terrific performance out of Morse as a lifelong fuck-up who's finally beginning to understand the role he's played in his own misery." • And Andrew Lapin wrote for NPR, "...writer-director-star Martin Donovan can't connect the dots... a ponderous bore..." More Reviews Below...
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: GOOD(cg) "Martin Donovan, acting with ironic reserve, hands the movie to David Morse, who makes his character the kind of crank you can care about..."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 75 words, 07/06/12
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (9 Reviews)
Stephen Holden, New York Times: WEAK "...has the tone and structure of an extended one-act play.... Its uniformly wooden dialogue lends it the stage-bound feel of a tortured writing exercise..."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 338 words, 07/06/12
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...ultimately, the movie feels too much like an actorly exercise.... That's okay, though. There's always room for an intelligent, independent filmmaker..."(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 331 words, 07/06/12
Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "...disappointing... it's Martin Donovan's performance here that proves the movie's weakest link, though his writing and helming tie for a close second."(See all of Gary Goldstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 217 words, 07/20/12
Farran Smith Nehme, New York Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "...simply plotted and quietly filmed in long, steady takes.... the heart of the movie is a two-hander, and Martin Donovan and David Morse are ferociously good."(See all of Farran Smith Nehme's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 232 words, 07/06/12
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...perhaps better suited to the boards than the bijou, especially given Robert's playwright status and the plot device of the two men engaged in improv exercises."(See all of Peter Howell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 666 words, 07/13/12
Adam Litovitz, Toronto Globe & Mail: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...does a neat job of matching its lugubrious situations to a speedy pace, with a script that constantly adds details to the characters' suggestive back stories."(See all of Adam Litovitz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 511 words, 07/13/12
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "Donovan gets a terrific performance out of Morse as a lifelong fuck-up who's finally beginning to understand the role he's played in his own misery."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 127 words, 07/12/12
Chris Barsanti, Pop Matters: EXCELLENT(cg) "The rage of a disillusioned America gets a cool and ironic probing... a sharp and vital debut that keeps viewers guessing at all the right moments."(See all of Chris Barsanti's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 793 words, 07/13/12
Michelle Orange, Movieline: EXCELLENT(cg) "...the tension that develops has a natural rhythm to it.... relaxed in the right places and heightened to a largely effective degree when it counts."(See all of Michelle Orange's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 542 words, 07/06/12
Chris Cabin, Slant: WEAK(cg) "The script's natural home is the stage and Donovan, working with DP Julie Kirkwood, doesn't work hard to dissuade the dull theatricality of the piece."(See all of Chris Cabin's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 482 words, 07/05/12
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "Donovan gets a terrific performance out of Morse as a lifelong fuck-up who's finally beginning to understand the role he's played in his own misery."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 127 words, 07/12/12
HIGHBROW PRESS (3 Reviews)
Stephen Holden, New York Times: WEAK "...has the tone and structure of an extended one-act play.... Its uniformly wooden dialogue lends it the stage-bound feel of a tortured writing exercise..."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 338 words, 07/06/12
Andrew Lapin, NPR: POOR "...writer-director-star Martin Donovan can't connect the dots... a ponderous bore... it's as thin as the improv exercises the two men play to pass the time."(See all of Andrew Lapin's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 580 words, 07/05/12
Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "...disappointing... it's Martin Donovan's performance here that proves the movie's weakest link, though his writing and helming tie for a close second."(See all of Gary Goldstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 217 words, 07/20/12
MOVIE INDUSTRY (3 Reviews)
Alissa Simon, Daily Variety: MODERATE "...mixes a surfeit of inchoate issues and a tad too much quirk.... thesping falls somewhere between heightened naturalism and the line delivery of Hartley films."(See all of Alissa Simon's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 337 words, 07/06/11
Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "...disappointing... it's Martin Donovan's performance here that proves the movie's weakest link, though his writing and helming tie for a close second."(See all of Gary Goldstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 217 words, 07/20/12
Stephen Holden, New York Times: WEAK "...has the tone and structure of an extended one-act play.... Its uniformly wooden dialogue lends it the stage-bound feel of a tortured writing exercise..."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 338 words, 07/06/12
22.1 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Collaborator's reviews are separated by an average 22.1 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.
Collaborator (15 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Collaborator's reviews cover 22.2% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 5,789 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 386 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 5 Days Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Collaborator's reviews on average broke 5 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 Collaborator's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Collaborator (15 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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