5 to 7 2014

Kyle Smith, New York Post: Levin's rendering of a literary and ever-surprising New York touches Woody Allen levels, even as he slyly shifts the tone from near-farcical to elegiac, with references to Truffaut's "Jules and Jim." Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: Nothing turns out the way you expect it. Everyone has an F.A.O. Schwarz gift box full of surprises before 5 to 7 smoothly sails into its final sunset over the Manhattan skyline, and so will you. Read more

Peter Debruge, Variety: Courageously sentimental in an age of irony, Victor Levin's refreshingly articulate "5 to 7" delivers romance of the sort thought lost since the days of Audrey Hepburn, for those who appreciate such finery. Read more

Mike D'Angelo, AV Club: Its central relationship has a sitcom-ish superficiality, heavy on light banter and lacking in any real passion. Read more

Kerry Lengel, Arizona Republic: For an R-rated romance about a young writer's affair with a sultry French siren, "5 to 7" generates all the heat of an Easy-Bake Oven. It aims to sizzle but quickly fizzles. Read more

Peter Keough, Boston Globe: Though Yelchin does not elevate his role much above pasty callowness, Marlohe brings to hers a luminous irony and melancholy that makes her the ideal elusive beauty of hyper-romantic adolescent dreams. Read more

Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly: While the film has an undeniably sexy glow, it's too earnest and sappy by half. Read more

John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter: Sumptuous and romantic in an attractively old-fashioned way despite a hitch designed to give some contemporary American idealists pause... the film satisfies in a wholly commercial way. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: "5 to 7" is an interesting directing debut that, like Brian, shows promise. Read more

Amy Nicholson, L.A. Weekly: It's as much a triumph of boyish wish fulfillment as Peter Parker swinging on skyscrapers. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: Levin, in an effort to appease an American sensibility, has taken sophisticated subject matter and made a movie for children. Read more

Katherine Pushkar, New York Daily News: There must have been pretty slim pickings at the Neil Simon store by the time "5 to 7" writer-director Victor Levin got there. Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: Although Mr. Levin tends to embrace cliches and overstatement ... he can also surprise you with delicate touches, a pained look, a wince of recognition. Read more

Molly Eichel, Philadelphia Inquirer: The problem with 5 to 7 is that the most important romance, between Brian and Arielle, never feels real. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: The Brian-and-Arielle story never quite feels believable; it plays more like a novel than a genuine love story, like a work in progress, rather than a beginning and, inevitably, an end. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: It expresses a belief in love as something miraculous and transformational. It says that love makes people what they are and provides the experiences that reverberate for a lifetime. Read more

Cary Darling, Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com: The strong cast, a beautiful score, and a surprisingly affecting ending make it more convincing that it seems at first. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: One of the best date-night movies of the season without a doubt. Read more

David Ehrlich, Time Out: Though it's understandable that the melancholy Arielle is moved by Brian's passion for her, the contrasts between them always makes her seem like more of a babysitter than a paramour. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: There aren't many surprises in "5 to 7," unless you count such startlingly cliched bits of dialogue as "Life is a collection of moments" and "There's no free lunch." Read more