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SOUND OF MY VOICEMovie Reviews
Drama about a couple who become caught up in a cult they infiltrate in order to make a documentary to expose its leader as a charlatan. Cast:Brit Marling, Nicole Vicius, Davenia McFadden, Christopher Denham, Avery Pohl, Kandice StrohDirector:Zal BatmanglijRelease Date:April 27, 2012DVD Release:October 2, 2012From:Fox SearchlightRating:RLength:1 hr 25 min
Sound of My Voice played in key cities to very good reviews. • Claudia Puig wrote in USA Today, "...mesmerizing.... consistently disturbing, probing the human desire to believe — in a variety of extreme scenarios." • And Michael O'Sullivan wrote in the Washington Post, "...a slightly thriller-ish sci-fi-flavored tale, rich in psychological complexity." More Reviews Below...
Sound of My Voice Positive Reviews (43 Reviews, reviews below)
Alynda Wheat, People: VERY GOOD(cg) "Brit Marling gives a stirring performance... While the film expertly reels viewers in, its final act isn't fully realized enough..."(See all of Alynda Wheat's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 106 words, 04/26/12
Mary Pols, Time: OUTSTANDING "Brit Marling is gravely talented... marvelously, director Zal Batmanglij leaves open the dueling possibilities of science fiction and a much more mundane reality."(See all of Mary Pols's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 938 words, 04/27/12
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...within its clever structure it digs into the notions of identity, loyalty and the need to belong.... the way it does a lot with a little is the most hypnotic trick of all."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 556 words, 04/26/12
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: EXCELLENT(cg) "...doesn't follow through on everything it sets up, yet it has a hushed and revealing psycho-intensity. It also has an oh-wow 'Twilight Zone' ending..."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 279 words, 04/27/12
James Rocchi, MSN Movies: EXCELLENT(cg) "...both striking and contradictory -- stuffed full of ideas and twists and turns, it also plays a little thin and fragile, more like a haiku than a novel."(See all of James Rocchi's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 596 words, 04/23/12
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (13 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD "...a smart, effectively unsettling movie about the need to believe and the hard, cruel arts of persuasion.... The movie's ambitions are modest..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 754 words, 04/27/12
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...mesmerizing... small details worm their way into our heads.... Despite some tough-to-take moments, this challenging, smart movie is worth the trip."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 132 words, 04/27/12
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times/Chicago Tribune: VERY GOOD "...a nifty paranoid thriller with sharp commentary on our faction-centered society and the pitfalls of reinvention. Zal Batmanglij's tonal command is often unsettling..."(See all of Robert Abele's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 232 words, 04/27/12
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: MODERATE(cg) "Feels more like a rough cut than a finished film, but star-to-be Brit Marling is compelling as a disarmingly young and attractive cult leader."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 340 words, 05/04/12
David Edelstein, New York Magazine: GOOD "...blandly made but intense... Batmanglij keeps the movie even-keeled, with nothing to break the trance until a last scene that upends everything we thought we knew."(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 348 words, 04/23/12
Karina Longworth, Village Voice/LA Weekly: MODERATE "...strains for pulp but often lands at soap... an unusual ambition shines through... but the film ultimately feels like a teaser prologue for something that doesn't yet exist."(See all of Karina Longworth's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 496 words, 04/25/12
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: VERY GOOD(cg) "Marling's penetrating performance leaves you wondering until the very end -- and beyond -- about her character's origins and motives."(See all of Peter Howell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 649 words, 05/11/12
Stephen Cole, Toronto Globe & Mail: VERY GOOD(cg) "Brit Marling plays Maggie with melancholy, amusement and scorn. Compulsively watchable, she can change who we think she is by simply turning her face."(See all of Stephen Cole's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 567 words, 04/27/12
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "...an elusive shell game; every time we think we've glimpsed the truth, it pivots away from us. And once you adjust to that ambiguity, things become a lot more interesting."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 181 words, 05/10/12
KEY CITIES (12 Reviews)
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: MODERATE(cg) "...a slightly thriller-ish sci-fi-flavored tale, rich in psychological complexity.... there's a matter-of-factness to the film's weirdness."(See all of Michael O'Sullivan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 536 words, 04/27/12
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "An economical thriller, both narratively and budgetarily... works a winning undercurrent of playful absurdity into the material..."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 351 words, 05/04/12
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: MODERATE(cg) "Marling lacks the commanding magnetism that made John Hawkes such a credible cult leader in the similarly themed, far superior 'Martha Marcy May Marlene.' "(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 246 words, 05/18/12
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: VERY GOOD(cg) "...the stroke of brilliance is that psychological suspense is built into the structure of both what's on screen and our response to it."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 723 words, 05/11/12
Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: WEAK(cg) "...none of this really adds up to much beyond an hour-and-a-half or so of vague doubletalk, arbitrary decisions and increasingly annoying frustration."(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 507 words, 04/27/12
Amy Biancolli, San Francisco Chronicle: MODERATE(cg) "Rachel Morrison's cinematography refrains from too much handheld jiggle, zeroing into close-ups with the spooky prepossession of Maggie and her acolytes."(See all of Amy Biancolli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 369 words, 05/04/12
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...starts out nicely creepy and gradually becomes infuriatingly creepy; you just want something energetic to happen, and it doesn't until the film's effective final scene."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 273 words, 05/04/12
Mike Russell, Portland Oregonian: GOOD(cg) "Batmanglij lets the mystery unfold in an immersive way that's probably a bit more compelling than its actual scripted payoff deserves."(See all of Mike Russell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 306 words, 05/11/12
Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a quietly disturbing film that ends on a note of nagging ambiguity.... it at once dramatizes and questions the power of belief."(See all of Calvin Wilson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 302 words, 06/01/12
Tom Long, Detroit News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...two-thirds of a great movie. Unfortunately the final third is nowhere to be seen.... it leaves you dangling, reaching out for something that's just not there."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 296 words, 05/18/12
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: MODERATE(cg) "...gets you all worked up and then leaves you hanging, as if the filmmakers couldn't think of a way to solve the riddles they had created..."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 554 words, 05/25/12
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (11 Reviews)
Karina Longworth, Village Voice/LA Weekly: MODERATE "...strains for pulp but often lands at soap... an unusual ambition shines through... but the film ultimately feels like a teaser prologue for something that doesn't yet exist."(See all of Karina Longworth's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 496 words, 04/25/12
Katey Rich, Cinema Blend: EXCELLENT(cg) "...a tiny, incisive movie that worms its way inside you and devours, expertly building tension and dread as it navigates the audience through its central mystery."(See all of Katey Rich's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 652 words, 04/27/12
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: MODERATE(cg) "Broken into numerous brief, sometimes elliptical but mostly perfunctory chapters... reminiscent of '12 Monkeys' and 'Terminator,' except those films kind of made sense."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 152 words, 05/10/12
Alison Willmore, AV Club: EXCELLENT(cg) "Marling provides a grave, otherworldly center around which everything else orbits -- a wispy blonde apparently dying from her contact with our present..."(See all of Alison Willmore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 410 words, 04/26/12
Jesse Hassenger, Pop Matters: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...raises questions that may be too numerous to count as a point of view.... leaves a lingering mystery over whether there's less to Marling's work than meets the eye."(See all of Jesse Hassenger's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 659 words, 05/18/12
Stephanie Zacharek, Movieline: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "It's hard to say whether this is a wholly bogus and pretentious indie enterprise or a weirdly compelling bit of low-budget storytelling."(See all of Stephanie Zacharek's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 729 words, 04/27/12
R. Kurt Osenlund, Slant: MODERATE(cg) "...kudos to Marling and her cohorts for leaving knots untied... no great psychological depths are being plumbed, which unfortunately, seems to render nil the raison d'être."(See all of R. Kurt Osenlund's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 701 words, 04/26/12
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "...an elusive shell game; every time we think we've glimpsed the truth, it pivots away from us. And once you adjust to that ambiguity, things become a lot more interesting."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 181 words, 05/10/12
Curt Holman, Atlanta Creative Loafing: EXCELLENT(cg) "Batmanglij masterfully builds a mood of paranoia but pulls his punch... Maybe that's to the good, otherwise we'd risk falling completely under its spell."(See all of Curt Holman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 484 words, 05/10/12
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher: MODERATE(cg) "Marling is mesmerizing... But it's not enough for a female character to be so much better drawn than we typically see on film. She needs a great story worthy of her."(See all of MaryAnn Johanson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 590 words, 08/06/12
HIGHBROW PRESS (4 Reviews)
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: EXCELLENT "...a chamber piece, shot digitally on a frayed shoestring... There's no arguing Ms. Marling's extraordinary gift for taking the camera and weaving a spell."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 292 words, 04/27/12
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD "...a smart, effectively unsettling movie about the need to believe and the hard, cruel arts of persuasion.... The movie's ambitions are modest..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 754 words, 04/27/12
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "...a nifty paranoid thriller with sharp commentary on our faction-centered society and the pitfalls of reinvention. Zal Batmanglij's tonal command is often unsettling..."(See all of Robert Abele's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 232 words, 04/27/12
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon: EXCELLENT "...proves how effectively you can set the mind-bending mood without any special effects, action sequences or spectral rabbits.... Marling is a fascinating new arrival..."(See all of Andrew O'Hehir's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,055 words, 04/27/12
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Justin Chang, Daily Variety: EXCELLENT "...economically assembled... knows what it's doing at every step, and Zal Batmanglij appears to have channeled his limited resources for maximum effectiveness..."(See all of Justin Chang's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 618 words, 01/29/11
Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter: EXCELLENT "...terrific and engrossing... Everything in this film is totally realistic... the filmmakers slyly leave it up to their audience to determine what the film is actually about..."(See all of Kirk Honeycutt's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 723 words, 01/26/11
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "...a nifty paranoid thriller with sharp commentary on our faction-centered society and the pitfalls of reinvention. Zal Batmanglij's tonal command is often unsettling..."(See all of Robert Abele's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 232 words, 04/27/12
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: GOOD "...a smart, effectively unsettling movie about the need to believe and the hard, cruel arts of persuasion.... The movie's ambitions are modest..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 754 words, 04/27/12
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: EXCELLENT "...a chamber piece, shot digitally on a frayed shoestring... There's no arguing Ms. Marling's extraordinary gift for taking the camera and weaving a spell."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 292 words, 04/27/12
16.3 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Sound of My Voice's reviews are separated by an average 16.3 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.
Sound of My Voice (43 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Sound of My Voice's reviews cover 79.5% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 20,140 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 468 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Sound of My Voice Coverage, Volume & Length (43 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 69.6 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Sound of My Voice's reviews on average broke 69.6 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 Sound of My Voice's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Sound of My Voice (43 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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