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THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALISTMovie Reviews
Thriller about a young Pakistani man whose dream of corporate success on Wall Street leads him to a conflict between his American dream and his family's homeland. Cast:Kate Hudson, Liev Schreiber, Kiefer Sutherland, Nelsan Ellis, Adil Hussain, Riz Ahmed, Martin Donovan, Shabana Azmi, Om Puri, Victor Slezak, Christopher Nicholas Smith, Ashlyn Henson, Haluk Bilginer, Clayton Landey, KingDirector:Mira NairRelease Date:April 26, 2013DVD Release: TBD From:IFCRating:RLength:2 hr. 8 min.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Good Reviews Key Cities
The Reluctant Fundamentalist opened in key cities to good reviews. • Andrew O'Hehir wrote for Salon, "...a compelling melodramatic swirl.... feels a little half-baked... it carries an exceedingly complicated intellectual agenda below the surface..." More Reviews Below...
The Reluctant Fundamentalist Positive Reviews (34 Reviews, reviews below)
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...remarkable... Riz Ahmed gives a smoldering performance that announces the arrival of a major actor.... The film meanders at times, but mostly it's bracing."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 101 words, 04/26/13
S. Jhoanna Robledo, Common Sense Media: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...well-performed... pushes viewers to take a look at issues we may feel reluctant to examine. That it does so with a sometimes obvious hand is forgivable.... Age 17."(See all of S. Jhoanna Robledo's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 499 words, 04/23/13
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (12 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: FAIR "...thuddingly crude.... Ms. Nair delivers a lesson in multiculturalism, turning a difficult, fairly acid story into an occasion for some finger-wagging."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 824 words, 04/26/13
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...told in stubbornly straightforward style. But the story is so complex, and the central performance so strong, that the movie remains compelling all the way through."(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 403 words, 04/26/13
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times/Chicago Tribune: OUTSTANDING "...smart, provocative.... rich in complexities.... it does not offer answers but rather, of equal if not greater value, it presents different ways to frame the question..."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 902 words, 04/26/13
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...offers an interesting view of America through foreign eyes.... As a drama, it's compelling. As a spy thriller, it's pretty clunky CIA stuff."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 324 words, 05/03/13
Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Deliberately ambiguous... provides just enough answers while leaving us with more than enough questions. It's a film that demands discussion afterward."(See all of Richard Roeper's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 699 words, 05/03/13
Jonathan Kiefer, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "At times it's dense and sluggish, too much like a novel. But there is some exhilaration to be had from Mira Nair's sincere interest in Kate Hudson's character..."(See all of Jonathan Kiefer's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 248 words, 04/24/13
Bruce DeMara, Toronto Star: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a long but ultimately rewarding ride.... delivers some satisfying twists, unexpected revelations and a climax in which there are no clear winners."(See all of Bruce DeMara's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 528 words, 05/17/13
Robert Everett-Green, Toronto Globe & Mail: MODERATE(cg) "...too long and too pedestrian in its language and situations.... At the end of its two hours, I felt more exhausted than informed, more jerked around than entertained."(See all of Robert Everett-Green's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 713 words, 05/17/13
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...great, gripping and complex... more than a thriller... Nair's adept at big, sometimes messy narratives that embrace contradiction -- emotionally, politically, morally."(See all of Michael O'Sullivan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 646 words, 05/03/13
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Despite the charismatic efforts of the British actor Ahmed, the film gets bogged down in proselytizing and plot."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 327 words, 05/03/13
Barbara VanDenburgh, Arizona Republic: MODERATE(cg) "Nair has crafted a handsome but clubfooted film that lurches through predictable hot spots.... Even the drama fumbles despite a mostly solid cast..."(See all of Barbara VanDenburgh's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 442 words, 05/11/13
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Whether it's a case of life imitating art or art imitating life, this movie makes for queasy but fairly worthy viewing..."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 135 words, 05/10/13
Michael Upchurch, Seattle Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "Handsomely crafted and smartly performed, the film works on its own terms. But in expanding the story's canvas, it dilutes rather than translates the power of the book."(See all of Michael Upchurch's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 407 words, 05/03/13
Marc Mohan, Portland Oregonian: GOOD(cg) "...serves as a welcome rejoinder to jingoistic rhetoric.... It's a bit of a shame, then, that a simple storyline and schematic characters drag it down dramatically."(See all of Marc Mohan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 300 words, 05/10/13
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: VERY GOOD(cg) "The human cost of terrorism and America's response to it are taxes that we all pay. This film is a boldfaced line in an overdue audit."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 334 words, 05/10/13
Jonathan Kiefer, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "At times it's dense and sluggish, too much like a novel. But there is some exhilaration to be had from Mira Nair's sincere interest in Kate Hudson's character..."(See all of Jonathan Kiefer's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 248 words, 04/24/13
Sam Adams, AV Club: GOOD(cg) "...at its best when it's focused on Ahmed's journey between cultures.... But when Nair tries to take in the larger picture, her focus goes slack, and all that's left is a blur."(See all of Sam Adams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 497 words, 04/25/13
Abhimanyu Das, Slant: MODERATE(cg) "...a film that, notwithstanding its (almost) uniformly able cast, is all squandered potential, beholden to sledgehammer blows of contrived thematic convergence."(See all of Abhimanyu Das's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,002 words, 04/15/13
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: FAIR "...clumsy.... Mr. Ahmed turns the quicksilver quality of the book's internal monologue into a tour de force of his own creation. He's a bright star in a dim constellation."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 278 words, 04/26/13
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: FAIR "...thuddingly crude.... Ms. Nair delivers a lesson in multiculturalism, turning a difficult, fairly acid story into an occasion for some finger-wagging."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 824 words, 04/26/13
Ella Taylor, NPR: MODERATE "Nair adroitly manages the tension between talk and action.... [but] the movie collapses in a heap of wool-gathering humanism that fatally hedges its political bets."(See all of Ella Taylor's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 712 words, 04/25/13
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "...smart, provocative.... rich in complexities.... it does not offer answers but rather, of equal if not greater value, it presents different ways to frame the question..."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 902 words, 04/26/13
Dana Stevens, Slate: FAIR "Nair is so busy making sure we never lose sympathy for her handsome and charming protagonist that the film ultimately founders in a tangle of humanist platitudes."(See all of Dana Stevens's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 674 words, 04/26/13
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...a compelling melodramatic swirl.... feels a little half-baked... it carries an exceedingly complicated intellectual agenda below the surface..."(See all of Andrew O'Hehir's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,139 words, 04/24/13
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Justin Chang, Variety: FAIR "...saddles itself with a laborious narrative structure and half-baked thriller elements in a misguided attempt to open up what should be an intimate, introspective story."(See all of Justin Chang's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 784 words, 08/29/12
Deborah Young, Hollywood Reporter: GOOD "...colorful; convincingly rooted in Pakistan, its generally gripping drama painfully confronts the great cultural divide in people's thinking created by the tragedy of 9/11."(See all of Deborah Young's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 800 words, 08/29/12
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "...smart, provocative.... rich in complexities.... it does not offer answers but rather, of equal if not greater value, it presents different ways to frame the question..."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 902 words, 04/26/13
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: FAIR "...thuddingly crude.... Ms. Nair delivers a lesson in multiculturalism, turning a difficult, fairly acid story into an occasion for some finger-wagging."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 824 words, 04/26/13
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: FAIR "...clumsy.... Mr. Ahmed turns the quicksilver quality of the book's internal monologue into a tour de force of his own creation. He's a bright star in a dim constellation."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 278 words, 04/26/13
17.8 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
The Reluctant Fundamentalist's reviews are separated by an average 17.8 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.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist (34 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:The Reluctant Fundamentalist's reviews cover 64.1% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 16,597 words involume (average is 20,221 words). Length:The film's reviews average 488 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 15.2 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.3 Release)
The Reluctant Fundamentalist's reviews on average broke 15.2 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.3 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 The Reluctant Fundamentalist's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist (34 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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