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REALITY (2012)Movie Reviews
Italian comedy drama about a poor fishmonger whose obsession with being a contestant on the show "Big Brother" causes him to lose his grip on reality. Cast:Aniello Arena, Loredana Simioli, Nando Paone, Nello Iorio, Nunzia Schiano, Rosaria D'Urso, Giuseppina Cervizzi, Claudia Gerini, Raffaele Ferrante, Paola Minaccioni, Ciro Petrone, Salvatore Misticone, Vincenzo Riccio, Martina Graziuso, Alessandra ScognamilloDirector:Matteo GarroneRelease Date:March 15, 2013DVD Release:August 13, 2013From:OscilloscopeRating:RLength:1 hr 50 min
Reality (2012) played in key cities to very good reviews. • Dana Stevens wrote for Slate, "...the movie's broad satire bites deep, largely thanks to the work of Aniello Arena, the magnetic 44-year-old actor who plays the yearning, deluded Luciano." • And Ty Burr wrote in the Boston Globe, "...finds Matteo Garrone in a playful mood." More Reviews Below...
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: EXCELLENT(cg) "...has some of that old, classic Fellini insanity in its overheated blood.... Director Matteo Garrone wants to cross over to a place more 'real' than reality itself."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 91 words, 03/15/13
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (8 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: VERY GOOD "It's a circuitous journey, filled with boisterous comedy and characterized by escalating desperation... offers a glimpse not only of one man, but also of the soul of a people."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 727 words, 03/15/13
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Four years after astounding audiences with his starkly grim mob tale 'Gomorrah,' Matteo Garrone returns with a more garish, and superficial, vision of Italian culture."(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 169 words, 03/15/13
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "...magically eccentric.... Garrone achieves something uniquely colorful, disturbing and trenchant about self-perception in an increasingly fishbowl-like society."(See all of Robert Abele's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 216 words, 03/22/13
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: VERY GOOD(cg) "...unexpectedly touching... unknown nonprofessional Aniello Arena's performance is fine, true and moving. He is utterly unaware of the camera."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 567 words, 03/29/13
Bill Stamets, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Citing Pinocchio and Pirandello, director and co-writer Matteo Garrone crafts 'a black fairy tale' about wishing too much to be seen.... enchanting..."(See all of Bill Stamets's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 473 words, 03/29/13
Michael Atkinson, Village Voice/LA Weekly: EXCELLENT "Garrone is in complete control of his thematic plutonium... builds to as scalding a vision of televisual simulacra and its maddened victims as 'The King of Comedy.' "(See all of Michael Atkinson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 458 words, 03/13/13
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a darkly allegorical comedy.... it has a dreamlike quality that suits -- and reflects -- the dreams of its protagonist."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 259 words, 04/05/13
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...finds Matteo Garrone in a playful mood.... The further back we stand from its concentric circles of reality, the more they appear to have been hand-drawn by Dante."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 792 words, 03/29/13
Walter Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a gaudy, dreamlike and incisive depiction of a society in thrall to celebrity.... features an outstanding lead performance by Aniello Arena."(See all of Walter Addiego's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 55 words, 04/05/13
John Hartl, Seattle Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "For all its ups and downs and occasional detours into boorishness, it's an original that will surprise if not necessarily delight fans of Garrone's very different 'Gomorrah.' "(See all of John Hartl's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 283 words, 04/05/13
Marc Mohan, Portland Oregonian: GOOD(cg) "...satirical... at times Luciano seems as much a target of ridicule as the superficial, oversexed entertainment served up on the tube."(See all of Marc Mohan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 144 words, 02/07/13
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (5 Reviews)
Michael Atkinson, Village Voice/LA Weekly: EXCELLENT "Garrone is in complete control of his thematic plutonium... builds to as scalding a vision of televisual simulacra and its maddened victims as 'The King of Comedy.' "(See all of Michael Atkinson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 458 words, 03/13/13
Scott Tobias, AV Club: EXCELLENT(cg) "There's virtually no way to talk about Matteo Garrone's comic fable without giving a nod to 'The King of Comedy,' Martin Scorsese's masterful dark comedy..."(See all of Scott Tobias's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 422 words, 03/14/13
Elena Razlogova, Pop Matters: MODERATE(cg) "...a comedic departure from the mafia theme for which Matteo Garrone is best known, but it's not particularly funny. Moreover, its themes are not new."(See all of Elena Razlogova's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 437 words, 05/30/12
Jesse Cataldo, Slant: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...wavers between feverishly inspired absurdity and flaccid buildup, striking an inconsistent balance between brilliance and tedium."(See all of Jesse Cataldo's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 817 words, 03/11/13
HIGHBROW PRESS (5 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: VERY GOOD "It's a circuitous journey, filled with boisterous comedy and characterized by escalating desperation... offers a glimpse not only of one man, but also of the soul of a people."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 727 words, 03/15/13
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "...magically eccentric.... Garrone achieves something uniquely colorful, disturbing and trenchant about self-perception in an increasingly fishbowl-like society."(See all of Robert Abele's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 216 words, 03/22/13
Dana Stevens, Slate: VERY GOOD "...the movie's broad satire bites deep, largely thanks to the work of Aniello Arena, the magnetic 44-year-old actor who plays the yearning, deluded Luciano."(See all of Dana Stevens's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 478 words, 03/15/13
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon: EXCELLENT "...colorful and intriguing.... makes clear that Garrone is a filmmaker who can take a familiar story and infuse it with strangeness and vitality."(See all of Andrew O'Hehir's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 836 words, 03/14/13
MOVIE INDUSTRY (4 Reviews)
Deborah Young, Hollywood Reporter: MODERATE "...struggles to find its tone amid stock characters and leisurely plotting, with nods to Fellini and Italian neorealism that leave the taste of a big, reheated pizza."(See all of Deborah Young's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 731 words, 05/18/12
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "...magically eccentric.... Garrone achieves something uniquely colorful, disturbing and trenchant about self-perception in an increasingly fishbowl-like society."(See all of Robert Abele's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 216 words, 03/22/13
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Despite a visually arresting opening, it fails to sustain the bravura filmmaking.... becomes too repetitive and one-note to give the material any jolt of excitement..."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 786 words, 05/22/12
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: VERY GOOD "It's a circuitous journey, filled with boisterous comedy and characterized by escalating desperation... offers a glimpse not only of one man, but also of the soul of a people."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 727 words, 03/15/13
15.4 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Reality (2012)'s reviews are separated by an average 15.4 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.
Reality (2012) (23 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Reality (2012)'s reviews cover 30.4% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 10,100 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 439 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 10 Days Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Reality (2012)'s reviews on average broke 10 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 Reality (2012)'s opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Reality (2012) (23 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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