Something is missing, though. The themes are all there, but the movie doesn’t cross the blood-brain barrier and rev you up.
Comment
05/12/06
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Ask the Dust (2005)
52
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:31
Fresh:16
Rotten:15
Average Rating:5.6/10
Consensus: Though Hayek is luminous, Farrell seems miscast, and the film fails to capture the gritty, lively edginess of the book upon which it's based.
Theatrical Release:Mar 10, 2006 Limited
Box Office: $630,802
Synopsis: From the director of CHINATOWN comes a tale of small-town dreams and big-city challenges. Colin Farrell plays a down-and-out writer in 1930s L.A. who dreams of making it big, and Salma Hayek plays... [More]
Starring: Colin Farrell, Salma Hayek, Donald Sutherland, Eileen Atkins
Director: Robert Towne
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Reviews for Ask the Dust
Top CriticFarrell and costar Salma Hayek have rarely been so affecting, or so effective, as self-hating ethnics who find love.
03/30/06
Top CriticAsk the Dust is one of the most eagerly awaited cinematic projects of 2006, which may be why it lands with such a curious thud.
03/23/06
Top Critic[A] sexy, sensual, romantic, nostalgic adaptation of the novel ...
03/18/06
Top Critic... not for all tastes but far from flavorless.
03/18/06
Top CriticWhether or not you're familiar with John Fante, if you like novels, you'll like Ask the Dust.
03/18/06
Top CriticAsk the Dust requires an audience with a special love for film noir, with a feeling for the loneliness and misery of the writer, and with an understanding that any woman he meets will be beautiful.
03/18/06
Top Critic... after an hour or so, Ask the Dust seems to have said everything, and the air starts to seep out of its hermetic atmosphere.
03/18/06
Top CriticThe fact is, there's something sadly lifeless about Ask the Dust.
03/17/06
Top CriticFarrell isn't living up to his hype. He's inheriting the mantle from Andy Garcia as the world's oldest promising newcomer.
03/17/06
Top CriticIt is to the credit of Towne and his cast ... that Ask the Dust is able to convey Fante's passion without making it seem affected.
03/17/06
Top CriticWhat gives Ask the Dust its quiet vitality -- beyond Farrell's muscular yet delicate portrayal -- is the fear of failing to grasp the brass ring that appears through much of the movie.
03/17/06
Top CriticWhat's surprising about the new film's vapid emptiness is that Towne also wrote the screenplay. And the writing is the film's central problem.
03/16/06
Top CriticIt isn't until the very end that somebody finally does ask the dust a question, and there's so much talking in this movie that it's a miracle the dust doesn't reply.
03/16/06
Top CriticTowne and cinematographer Caleb Deschanel beautifully capture Fante's city of the dispossessed, where the seasons never change.
03/16/06
Top CriticTheir (Colin Farrell & Salma Hayek's) tempestuous relationship teaches the young writer life-changing lessons about love and loss.
03/16/06
Top CriticIt’s a strange, off-beat story.
03/16/06
Top CriticThe hard-boiled prose is translated into a schmaltzy movie with too much sap and not enough grit.
03/10/06
Top CriticWatching it is like being in a restaurant where the waiter brings out a luscious platter of food, then keeps walking right past you. All night long.
03/10/06
Top CriticAtmospheric but awkward drama.
03/10/06
Top CriticWhat’s Hot On RT
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