Margaret 2011

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: Lonergan's dialogue can sweep you up in a whoosh of personality and ideas, but it's hard to see what, apart from ego, convinced him that this story was so epic. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Messy but masterful; a sprawling portrait of what it means to be a bright young woman who's realizing that the world isn't the warm bath of acceptance that her privileged life would indicate. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: "Margaret" was filmed in 2005 and has reportedly been delayed because of persistent editing problems. These do not seem to have been solved. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: This is the first bad movie that has ever made me call for a sequel -- to get it all right. Read more

Keith Phipps, AV Club: Despite a wrenching opening that saddles Paquin's character with more guilt than most anyone could bear, much less a less-than-steady-on-her-feet teen, the film lets some great performances and compelling moments drift in a sea of shapelessness. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: What an interesting failure "Margaret" is. Read more

Jake Coyle, Associated Press: "Margaret" remains tantalizingly unfulfilled. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: Lonergan, who casts himself as Lisa's lukewarm father, a screenwriter, possesses a rare talent for elevating an embarrassing sequence into sadness or tragedy. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: Even in its truncated state, this is pretty gripping stuff. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: I wish I could say it's a resurrected classic but, alas, it's mostly a mess -- a 2-1/2-hour mess no less. Read more

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: How do you assess a movie when you know it's been edited down against the filmmaker's stern will? That's the dilemma created by Margaret. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: Margaret is a mess. An impressive mess, but a mess nonetheless. Read more

William Goss, Film.com: On occasion, the film captures a welcome cross-section of modern New York life, serving as a freeform antidote to the intersecting-lives tidiness of similar films from the likes of Haggis and Inarritu. Read more

Sheri Linden, Hollywood Reporter: Nearly every scene is acutely observed, a strong cast fully inhabiting Lonergan's symphonic collision of ideas and in tune with his ear for the harsh poetry of New York language, variously hyperbolic and sparing, engaged and self-protective. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: Lonergan has created a forceful yet extremely fitful film that teases with moments of brilliance only to frustrate in the end. Read more

Richard Brody, New Yorker: For all its awkwardness and uncertainty, the film is a city symphony, romantic yet scathing, lyrical with street life and vaulting skylines, reckless with first adventure... Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Every bold vision requires respect; a few deserve celebration. This is one of them, imperfections and all. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: For a 90-minute movie, "Margaret" has a thin story. So it's unfortunate that it runs 2 1/2 hours. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: From start to end credits, very much an example of good work that doesn't translate. Read more

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: Its hard look at a young, morally confused woman struggling for clarity is nothing short of riveting. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Margaret comes apart at the seams as you watch it, but it gives off a lovely light. Seek it out. You can thank me later. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: Rarely has a film with such a great cast and so many moments of terrific writing and such high dramatic goals been so messy and disorganized and fundamentally bad. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: An ambitious, novelistic, sprawling story that attempts to show a young woman's internal development while simultaneously conveying the soul of modern-day New York. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: It's a passionate, fascinating mess, like its abrasive main character. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: Kenneth Lonergan's new film, Margaret, finally released six years after it was shot, now seems destined to become part of film history as one of the more stunning examples of a filmmaker's sophomore slump. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: A pretentious, talky bore that feels like an amalgamation of workshopped theater ideas thrown at the wall in the hopes that any one of them will stick. Read more

Mary F. Pols, TIME Magazine: Lonergan didn't bite off more than he could chew with Margaret - this is his personal moral gymnasium - but he did bite off more than others might want to chew. Read more

Greg Quill, Toronto Star: What it does have going for it is a pre-True Blood Anna Paquin, who burns up the screen with a bravura performance in a complex and discomfiting role. Read more

Justin Chang, Variety: This unwieldy drama of conscience in the wake of tragedy is hyperarticulate but rarely eloquent, full of wrenchingly acted scenes that lack credible motivation or devolve into shrill hectoring. Read more

Karina Longworth, Village Voice: A distanced but often car-crash compelling portrait of a teen as an unfinished being. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: Ambitious, affecting, unwieldy and haunting, it's an eccentric, densely atmospheric, morally hyper-aware masterpiece... Read more