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MIRALMovie Reviews
Drama about the effects of the Arab-Israeli conflict on four different women, from 1948 to 1995. Cast:Willem Dafoe, Freida Pinto, Vanessa Redgrave, Yasmine Al Masri, Hiam AbbassDirector:Julian SchnabelRelease Date:March 25, 2011DVD Release:July 12, 2011From:The Weinstein CompanyRating:PG-13Length:1 hr 52 min
Miral played in key cities to fair reviews. • Colin Covert wrote in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, "What could have been a vivid personal story withers into a dry history lesson. Schnabel has shown himself to be capable of much better work...." • And John Anderson wrote in New York Newsday, "Earnest but terribly unfocused and lopsided view of Palestinian history and Israeli aggression." More Reviews Below...
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: MODERATE(cg) "...has some vivid, lovely imagery and provocative uses of perspective as well as a couple of strong performances, but ultimately seems overlong and unsatisfying."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 751 words, 03/24/11
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: GOOD(cg) "At once open-eyed and myopic, skillful and meandering... makes bits and pieces of the Palestinian experience come alive without assembling them into a coherent vision."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 193 words, 03/25/11
Claudia Puig, USA Today: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Bogged down by speechifying and a plodding pace... well-intentioned but doesn't achieve the searing emotional resonance suggested by the story."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 506 words, 03/25/11
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (9 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: WEAK "Like so many other well-intentioned movies about politically contentious issues, it is hobbled by its own sincerity and undone by a confused aesthetic agenda."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 939 words, 03/25/11
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The film seeks to humanize a seemingly unwinnable conflict, and it succeeds at that. But stepping back sadly weakens its story as well as its politics."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 345 words, 03/25/11
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times/Chicago Tribune: FAIR "The lack of a compelling lead figure, combined with Schnabel's tentative approach to the material, casts the film's later stretches in the balmy glow of soap opera."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 501 words, 03/25/11
Kyle Smith, New York Post: POOR(cg) "Combining narrative heavy-handedness with an airy disdain for the details of the situation... gives us a one-sided view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict..."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 237 words, 03/25/11
John Anderson, New York Newsday: MODERATE(cg) "Earnest but terribly unfocused and lopsided view of Palestinian history and Israeli aggression.... every chapter feels like an indoctrination."(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 332 words, 04/22/11
Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, Chicago Sun-Times: MODERATE(cg) "...so firmly attuned to colors, sounds and stray shafts of light that it forgets that it has a plot.... a frustrating movie that no amount of visual jazz can liven up."(See all of Ignatiy Vishnevetsky's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 768 words, 04/15/11
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: WEAK "...a very flat, fuddled movie.... Schnabel has done little to dam a sluggish river of stories and images to turn them into something powerful."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 664 words, 03/23/11
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: WEAK(cg) "...an ambitious but seriously muddled melodrama.... There's a rape and a suicide, torture, death and hope for the future, all packed into just under two hours."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 413 words, 04/08/11
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: MODERATE(cg) "What could have been a vivid personal story withers into a dry history lesson. Schnabel has shown himself to be capable of much better work..."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 524 words, 04/01/11
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...subsists on a diet of murderously territorial Israelis, poor persecuted Palestinians, and boilerplate pleas for peace: It's cause-y."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 795 words, 04/01/11
Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: POOR(cg) "...the half-hearted attempt to provide a Jewish counterpart to Frieda Pinto's heroine is rendered useless by Schnabel's insistence on casting his talent-free daughter, Stella."(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 551 words, 03/26/11
Amy Biancolli, San Francisco Chronicle: POOR(cg) "...boasts some affecting scenes and a few interesting things to say about idealism and the perils of youth, but good luck following the story amid all that visual chaos."(See all of Amy Biancolli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 366 words, 04/01/11
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: MODERATE(cg) "The few Jewish characters are cartoonishly evil, but even the Palestinians are sketchily dramatized or, in the case of a terrorist, clumsily legitimized."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 260 words, 04/15/11
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: WEAK "...a very flat, fuddled movie.... Schnabel has done little to dam a sluggish river of stories and images to turn them into something powerful."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 664 words, 03/23/11
Tom Meek, Boston Phoenix: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...the push for a resolution is spot-on, but the didactic approach and hodge-podge structure diminish the film's heart and Schnabel's dreamy imagery."(See all of Tom Meek's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 159 words, 04/07/11
Stephanie Zacharek, Movieline: WEAK(cg) "...a disappointment.... Schnabel is out of his element here. His movie comes off as a stiff lesson plan; his gift for subtlety seems temporarily lost."(See all of Stephanie Zacharek's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 406 words, 03/24/11
Bill Weber, Slant: MODERATE(cg) "...feels undernourished as drama and incomplete as narrative, as if whittled down at the price of its characters' depth and even the coherence of their identities."(See all of Bill Weber's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 396 words, 03/25/11
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher: POOR(cg) "...disjointed and poorly structured... Schnabel wants to let his typically gorgeous and emotional visuals tell the story, but they're not connected enough to what we see..."(See all of MaryAnn Johanson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 304 words, 04/25/11
HIGHBROW PRESS (2 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: WEAK "Like so many other well-intentioned movies about politically contentious issues, it is hobbled by its own sincerity and undone by a confused aesthetic agenda."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 939 words, 03/25/11
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: FAIR "The lack of a compelling lead figure, combined with Schnabel's tentative approach to the material, casts the film's later stretches in the balmy glow of soap opera."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 501 words, 03/25/11
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Justin Chang, Daily Variety: FAIR "...the predictable, can't-we-all-just-get-along coda would be easier to swallow were it preceded by a more politically engaged or personally engaging narrative."(See all of Justin Chang's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,034 words, 09/02/10
Deborah Young, Hollywood Reporter: FAIR "...too schematic and unfocused... has the kind of direct simplicity that could reach out to historically challenged audiences..."(See all of Deborah Young's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,044 words, 10/15/10
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: FAIR "The lack of a compelling lead figure, combined with Schnabel's tentative approach to the material, casts the film's later stretches in the balmy glow of soap opera."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 501 words, 03/25/11
Patrick Z. McGavin, Cinema 24/7: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Schnabel and the great French cinematographer Eric Gautier work in a highly direct and tactile way... But there is awkwardness to the storytelling."(See all of Patrick Z. McGavin's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 896 words, 09/16/10
A.O. Scott, New York Times: WEAK "Like so many other well-intentioned movies about politically contentious issues, it is hobbled by its own sincerity and undone by a confused aesthetic agenda."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 939 words, 03/25/11
15.0 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Miral's reviews are separated by an average 15.0 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.
Coverage:Miral's reviews cover 40.5% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 14,926 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 533 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 56.5 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Miral's reviews on average broke 56.5 hours 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 Miral's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
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