Wrestling Ernest Hemingway 1993

Caryn James, New York Times: Instead of simply assuming that the old have interesting lives, the film never stops congratulating itself for being daring enough to focus on them. Read more

Entertainment Weekly: Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Steve Conrad's debut screenplay says little that's new, but the actors make it fresher and more powerful than it has a right to be. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: The movie is essentially about the close observation of behavior. Like some of Hemingway's stories, the real action is all implied. The characters trade small talk, and we sense that larger issues are lurking beneath their cheerfulness. Read more

Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine: Wrestling Ernest Hemingway aspires to be serious about its subject. Yet in a curious way this sobriety works against it. Frank and Walt turn into schematically contrasting case studies, and the movie's sympathy for them eventually becomes patronizing. Read more

Time Out: There aren't really any surprises, but it's a delight to see a movie which idles away without anything more pressing on its mind than people. Read more

Emanuel Levy, Variety: Randa Haines' sappy, rather dull melodrama about the friendship between two eccentric old men is mostly a showcase for its stars, Robert Duvall and Richard Harris. Read more

Desson Thomson, Washington Post: This movie is so loaded down with calendar-poster sentiments, you may find yourself wanting to wrestle the filmmakers. Read more

Rita Kempley, Washington Post: An endearing buddy movie for the senior crowd. Read more