Heartfelt and heart-rending performances make all the difference in Pauline and Paulette, a delightfully bittersweet story.
80
Village VoiceLeslie Camhi
Village VoiceLeslie Camhi
Without condescension, Debrauwer offers comic glimpses into their separate dreams of grandeur, but he lets Pauline's touching simplicity unite them.
75
Boston GlobeJay Carr
Boston GlobeJay Carr
Sentimental and has its heart on its sleeve, but never heavy-handedly so, and its delicacy and tenderness will get to you if you give it half a chance.
75
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Plumbs the issue of sibling love and family responsibility in quietly powerful ways, and the performances of the two stars surpass convincing to reach a level of biographical realism.
70
L.A. WeeklyPaul Malcolm
L.A. WeeklyPaul Malcolm
The film's plainness, and the understated force of van der Groen and Petersen's performances, sharpen its complexity of feeling until all mawkishness is cut away.
70
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
The result is something truly special.
30
Washington Post
Washington Post
There is something disturbing about yet another iteration of what's become one of the movies' creepiest conventions, in which the developmentally disabled are portrayed with almost supernatural powers to humble, teach and ultimately redeem their mentally "superior" (read: morally inferior) friends, family and acquaintances.