On a Clear Day 2005

Jessica Reaves, Chicago Tribune: Like a soggy and less compelling iteration of The Full Monty. Read more

John Hartl, Seattle Times: The movie reaches for an emotional climax that is simply beyond the filmmakers' grasp. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: On a Clear Day isn't the best of the genre, but I can't deny it got to me. Read more

Scott Tobias, AV Club: Much of On A Clear Day volleys between quirky and sentimental. Read more

Bill Muller, Arizona Republic: The symbolism in On a Clear Day makes it more than just another underdog story, and the movie is less reliant on warm and fuzzy Hollywood- isms than other films of its kind. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: Does any of this work? Sure, but only through the graces of a cast that knows better than to play to our hearts. Read more

Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times: Sweet-natured, if somewhat familiar, On a Clear Day features fine performances by Mullan, Blethyn and Sives. Dellal and cinematographer David Johnson paint an inviting picture of Glasgow. Read more

Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle: A lesser film, kindhearted, a wee bit weepy and a wee bit trite. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: Mullan always looks as if he's about to explode -- sometimes he does -- and he's in good enough shape to make the aquatic conceit believable. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: [Scottish actor Peter Mullan] saves a drama tangled in the seaweed of life lessons from drowning in pathos. Read more

Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press: ... despite its familiarity, it works, mostly on the strength of a fine performance by the Scottish actor Peter Mullan. Read more

Philip Wuntch, Dallas Morning News: It presses most of the right feel-good buttons. Read more

Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly: If, like me, you have infinite tolerance for schmaltz-encrusted tales of troubled British proles who seek salvation through recreational self-discovery, go ahead and enjoy strong, silent Peter Mullan as a laid-off Glasgow shipyard worker. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: Mullan makes Frank a complex, proud and wounded man, a reluctant dreamer who is both melancholic and inspiring. Not a great film, but all the performances are smart. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: For all its exertions, the film spends most of its time merely treading water. Read more

Jack Mathews, New York Daily News: If it weren't for Scotsman Peter Mullan, who's wonderful as Frank Redmond, On a Clear Day would be intolerably pat. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Nothing in On a Clear Day is especially compelling. The movie doesn't dig deep enough. Read more

Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle: Clear Day isn't terribly engaging. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: The wonder here, if not the redemption, is that so many toil so hard to make this saccharine stuff palatable. Read more

Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star: The recycled spectacle of yet another downsized U.K. working-class type being reduced to an act of feel-good against-all-odds crowd-pleasing redemption. Read more

Anna Smith, Time Out: A pleasantly predictable film which ultimately demonstrates rather less ambition than its protagonist. Read more

Joe Leydon, Variety: Dellal milks the funny business for maximum laughs without making any of the central characters devolve into caricatures. Read more

Michael Atkinson, Village Voice: Gaby Dellal's cynically mushy film, like The Full Monty and its ilk, is best savored only by its target demo: middle-classers who see one imported film a year. Read more