Some Girl(s) 2013

Stephen Holden, New York Times: There are a lot of truthful notes in "Some Girl(s)," but there are also false ones that let you know that you are being played with. You'd best beware. Read more

Joe Leydon, Variety: Adam Brody strikes a deft balance of purposeful sincerity and sociopathic self-justification in the lead role. Read more

Mike D'Angelo, AV Club: The title's parenthetical plural sums up the problem with Some Girl(s): Five slow-cook dialogues that reveal the nice-guy protagonist as a super-tool is four too many. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: The things that once made Neil LaBute's movies seem like tossed grenades - the loutish protagonists, the sadism toward women - now come off as more dated than scandalous. Read more

William Goss, Film.com: It's minor LaBute, but nonetheless short and bittersweet. Read more

John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter: A weaselly protagonist keeps well-made film from connecting emotionally. Read more

Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times: The deft and merciless director sides with the girls, and to stack the deck she's hired five tremendous actresses who thrill to tear poor Brody apart Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Mayer does little to open up LaBute's original play, and the staginess often feels oppressive. The performances are mixed, too. Read more

Sara Stewart, New York Post: Attains the occasional moment of clarity, but ultimately has neither the dramatic heft nor the anchoring talent to justify an hour and a half in the company of a boring sociopath. Read more

David Fear, Time Out: If you've seen any of the playwright's previous forays into XY-ugliness, you can probably skip this one and still sleep soundly at night. Read more

Alan Scherstuhl, Village Voice: It doesn't take pattern-recognition software to catch some shared, troubling concerns here. But the charitable viewer will remember that ugly themes aren't necessarily a thesis. Read more