48
Metascore
13 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleSan Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJeremy Irvine is the sympathetic focus, but it’s Noah Wyle who holds the movie together, as a former teacher who lost his job through a malicious student’s prank. Smart, self-possessed and capable, this fellow nonetheless carries himself with an awareness of some underlying guilt.
- 63Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreIt’s a slow film, and almost painfully melodramatic in its obvious twists and turns. But the performances are finely tuned, and the story arc and situations — aside from a few pauses for a song — quietly gripping.
- 63New York PostKyle SmithNew York PostKyle SmithThough the film, based on a Ron Rash novel, doesn’t quite deliver on all its grim portents, debut director David Burris creates a neo-Faulknerian atmosphere of indelible sin in a story that rises above cliché. As Wyle’s character puts it, “The South was never one thing.”
- 50VarietyDennis HarveyVarietyDennis HarveyThis evenly paced drama holds interest with its uneasy character dynamics, interesting milieu and effective performances, though a story so frequently on the verge of violence ought to build more tension than Burris manages.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe film's saving grace is its fine performances.
- 50Chicago Sun-TimesChicago Sun-TimesA moody, brooding and sl-o-o-o-o-owly meandering tale that works its way, almost reluctantly, toward the violent finale — which also manages to be remarkably passive and anti-climactic.
- 40Village VoiceMichael NordineVillage VoiceMichael NordineOn-the-nose monologues on the cyclical nature of centuries-old blood feuds ultimately feel more like stuffy lectures than living history; ditto the film as a whole.
- 40The DissolveVadim RizovThe DissolveVadim RizovFor all the good intentions and native hands behind the camera, The World Made Straight never seems particularly credible or convincing as a fresh look at regional history.
- 40New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanA palpable sense of environment and strong performances from Noah Wyle and musician Steve Earle can’t balance the extensive flaws in this unconvincing Appalachian melodrama.
- 38Slant MagazineSean NamSlant MagazineSean NamThe moody lighting and the ubiquity of deciduous trees provide a canvas for bracing drama, but the film undoes itself by its desire to impart revelatory history lessons.