The only way to enjoy Kari Skogland's epic portrait of a miserable 90-year- woman named Hagar (Ellen Burstyn) is to reframe it as Scary Movie for weepies.
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07/24/08
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The Stone Angel (2008)
43
%
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Reviews Counted:21
Fresh:9
Rotten:12
Average Rating:5.4/10
Consensus: Despite fine performances from Ellen Burstyn and newcomer Christine Horne, The Stone Angel fails to escape formulaic melodrama territory.
Theatrical Release:Jul 11, 2008 Limited
Box Office: $31,883
Synopsis: Based on the best-selling novel by Margaret Laurence, The Stone Angel is the story of feisty firecracker Hagar Shipley (Christine Horne, Oscar Winner Ellen Burstyn). Her passionate heart has always... [More]
Starring: Ellen Burstyn, Christine Horne, Cole Hauser, Kevin Zegers
Director: Kari Skogland
Reviews for The Stone Angel
It's not a great movie, but Burstyn fans shouldn't miss her subtle performance.
07/11/08
Burstyn can do maternal strength and strife in her sleep, but Kari Skogland’s hardscrabble weepie is still indistinguishable from any number of similar memory-lane melodramas.
07/09/08
...there's certainly no overlooking the palpable emotional punch of the movie's final scenes.
05/14/08
A tastefully reverent, fundamentally sincere treatment of Margaret Laurence's 1964 Manitoba-based novel, a staple for Canada's 12th graders.
10/18/08
Old lady on the road takes a memory trip, giving Burstyn a chance to shine.
07/11/08
Although talented newcomer Christine Horne is ideal as the younger Hagar, letting Burstyn play the character at around 50, despite best-effort lighting, was not the wisest choice.
07/11/08
Events pass by in a muddled rush as the intimate character study of the page gives way to a hollowed-out on screen portrait.
07/10/08
Left me feeling respectfully indifferent, as if I'd been served a nutritious meal that was only fleetingly satisfying.
07/25/08
Writer-director Kari Skogland adapts a beloved Canadian novel gracefully and with plenty of spunk, the same way its main character moves through the world from cradle to grave.
07/11/08
Ultimately, though, the story is defined by searing turns from the enjoyably crotchety Burstyn and Horne, who shepherds Hagar from prideful wild child to soul-sapped middle-aged mother.
05/09/08
There is a reverence for the idea of Laurence's book but ultimately, in spite of its spiced-up sex scenes, it's much tamer and more conventional.
05/09/08
Top CriticDespite a terrific lead performance by Ellen Burstyn, Kari Skogland's epic The Stone Angel is a lesson in the perils of trying to cram a hefty Canadian novel that spans decades into a movie running just under two hours.
07/11/08
Top CriticA perfectly respectable, solidly-made film which, beyond the expert performance by the always reliable Ellen Burstyn, has unfortunately little to recommend it.
10/18/08
These elemental forces fuel a compelling narrative, but the second half of the movie starts to drift.
05/09/08
Far less would have been much more, though the geriatric protagonist's salty sexual wit and impulse to share a joint with a passing stranger, spice up the often dreary chronological procession of family episodes.
07/12/08
Too much story, too little time
07/23/09
Ellen Burstyn deserves another Oscar nomination for this compelling drama.
07/08/08
Top CriticA film of tightly assembled bits and pieces that don’t fit comfortably together despite clever dashes of magical realism connecting past and present.
07/11/08
Top CriticA stubbornly affecting drama that’s strongest in its quieter moments.
07/10/08
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June 15, 2008:
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