The Event (2003)
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Reviews Counted:47
Fresh:20
Rotten:27
Average Rating:5.2/10
Theatrical Release:Oct 3, 2003 Limited
Synopsis: In the mid- to late 1980s, films such as AN EARLY FROST, PARTING GLANCES, and LONGTIME COMPANION began examining the growing AIDS crisis. Thom Fitzgerald's moving THE EVENT shows that AIDS is still... [More]
Starring: Olympia Dukakis, Parker Posey, Sarah Polley, Don McKellar
Director: Thom Fitzgerald
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Reviews for The Event
| Tomatometer | Critic | Review | Category |
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 B- |
The superb performances by Olympia Dukakis and Don McKellar are what make this film rise above its limited but well-meaning script. Full Review |
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4/5 |
[Deals] with extremely serious themes in a frank, honest and often humorous way. Full Review |
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 1/4 |
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2/4 |
To make a movie in 2003, one that centers around AIDS but ignores the epidemic's current culprit, Africa, and toys melodramatically with scenarios steeped in the filmmakers' selfish nostalgia without any real point, is to ask us not to think at all. Full Review |
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B- |
The performances of Olympia Dukakis as Matt's mother and Sarah Polley as his sister elevate The Event from melodramatic claptrap to sensitive drama. Full Review |
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B- |
Parker Posey and Olympia Dukakis lend their talents to an AIDS suicide film – it has its moments, but the death rattle comes from the genre, not from the central character. Full Review |
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1.5/4 |
A feminine hygiene commercial is by far the best thing here. Is that last item a curious thing to say about a film with such a weighty agenda? Exactly. Full Review |
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Despite its impeccable acting and subtle backdrop of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, The Event lets its message overwhelm its emotion. Full Review |
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2/4 |
Most of the characters have no real life beyond representing various viewpoints. Full Review |
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The tedious film just plays out far too long with little new to say. Full Review |
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1.5/4 |
The conversation about euthanasia is a good one to have, no argument here, so go have it instead. Full Review |
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An obviously well-intended, brutally earnest work which nonetheless repeatedly shoots itself in the foot through sheer ineptitude. Full Review |
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2.5/5 |
The intricate structure of the movie is well handled but its world is a stifling capsule. Dukakis is in a zone! Full Review |
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Fails equally as lament and celebration. Full Review |
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C+ |
Aggressively drab and granular, the movie feels like a late-'80s AIDS passion play given an ill-fitting post-Sept. 11 makeover. Full Review |
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1.5/5 |
content with its own limited horizons Full Review |
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Maybe part of the reason The Event works so well is that Fitzgerald doesn't have compassion only for people dying of AIDS; his compassion rings out for anyone who's dying, period, as well as for the families and friends who care for them. Full Review |
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