29
Metascore
14 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 63Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThe interlocking stories are theoretically about people whose lives are associated; that worked in "Crash." Here the connections seem less immediate and significant, and so the movie sometimes seems based on a group of separate short stories.
- 60VarietyDennis HarveyVarietyDennis HarveyStitching together a quilt of stories involving disparate Angelenos in the mode of "Magnolia" and "Short Cuts" and myriad other crisscrossers, this somber drama is well crafted and watchable but lacks the distinctive story content, style and standout performances to become more than a serviceable reboot of familiar ideas.
- 50Chicago ReaderAndrea GronvallChicago ReaderAndrea GronvallAmong the other characters are an African-American TV writer (Kali Hawk) who hates black people and a widower (Erik Palladino) who stumbles onto a kidnapping case. The latter development provides the film with a denouement that's dramatically valid if overly neat.
- 40MovielineMovieline"A Short Cuts" full of self-pitying sociopaths, Answers to Nothing follows its characters toward a succession of increasingly queasy conclusions it tries to pass off as heartfelt and human.
- 33The A.V. ClubNathan RabinThe A.V. ClubNathan RabinFilms like these have taught us that suffering is the incontrovertible existential fate of attractive Los Angeles residents. Must these dour exercises in alienation make audiences suffer as well?
- 30Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzArizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzYou know it's not working when you don't care about any of them. Sadly, that's the case with Answers to Nothing, Matthew Leutwyler's dud about a revolving cast of characters in Los Angeles.
- 25Boston GlobeWesley MorrisBoston GlobeWesley MorrisNone of what we see is at all credible.
- 25San Francisco ChronicleAmy BiancolliSan Francisco ChronicleAmy BiancolliThe result is a diligent brand of gloom. When it isn't being diligently gloomy, it's being obvious. When it isn't being obvious, it's being sneaky, and when it isn't being sneaky, it's marching toward a climax of B-movie violence, stupidity and nuttiness that summarily bumps off the movie's least annoying character.
- 20Time OutDavid FearTime OutDavid FearNot one single character strikes you as being anything but a mouthpiece for writer-director Matthew Leutwyler's simplistic views on socio-emotional problems (racial self-hatred! post-rehab guilt!) or an excuse for self-satisfied, back-patting acting exercises. The title is an understatement.
- 0Village VoiceVillage VoiceThe most embarrassing project on co-star Barbara Hershey's resume.