68
Metascore
22 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80L.A. WeeklyF. X. FeeneyL.A. WeeklyF. X. FeeneyIt's a first-rate chamber piece for actors, but Julie Christie brings a particularly layered depth to what could have been a very flat role; a combination of bereaved mother and castaway wife. Her torment and her intermittent joys are so fully communicated that they anchor the film.
- 80The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinEven after the film's last half-hour descends into a silly season, Mr. Rudolph writes and directs with obvious affection for his characters and with a deep knowledge of whatever makes them tick.
- 80The A.V. ClubNathan RabinThe A.V. ClubNathan RabinAfterglow gets off to a weak start—and it's occasionally hampered by stilted dialogue and cutesy conceits; Nolte's character is named Lucky Mann—but it is nevertheless a strong, frequently touching film that benefits from a pair of brilliant performances by Nolte and Christie.
- 75ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliWhile these may not be the most unusual themes to fashion into a motion picture, Rudolph's atypical approach to the characters and their situations makes for an intriguing, if not always pleasant, movie.
- 75San Francisco ChronicleRuthe SteinSan Francisco ChronicleRuthe SteinMate swapping is so '70s. But Alan Rudolph, who wrote and directed Afterglow, avoids making it seem dated by presenting the menage a quatre as accidental.
- 67Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenAustin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenThe film itself tends to wander as it pokes around uneasily for its tone. Yet this is also, undeniably, the source of much of the film's charm. Afterglow bathes the screen with a warm amber light.
- 63The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenDespite his flair for trenchant dialogue, nicely complemented by Mark Isham's bluesy jazz score, Rudolph whets our appetite but then fails to deliver. The picture limps to its ending and leaves us with nothing to hold onto.
- 60TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghTV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghJulie Christie is glorious, and that's most of what you need to know about this slight, loosely structured and self-consciously ironic soap opera in which two couples -- one young and troubled, the other older but hardly wiser -- get themselves into a series of fine messes.
- 60Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumWriter-director Alan Rudolph has been remaking his own romantic comedy-dramas for so long now that even when he gives us two couples instead of one or substitutes Montreal for Seattle--both of which he does here--the film still comes out feeling the same.
- 50San Francisco ExaminerWalter AddiegoSan Francisco ExaminerWalter AddiegoThe comedy-drama is worth seeing for Christie's performance as a former B-actress married to a philandering handyman. She radiates a mature sexuality that's a rare treat on screen these days, and when the camera strays from her, you want to reach over and turn it back.