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Forty Shades of Blue (2004)

tomatometer

61

Average Rating: 6.3/10
Reviews Counted: 51
Fresh: 31 | Rotten: 20

In its portrayal of a woman's awakening and disillusionment, Forty Shades of Blue is as nuanced as its title would suggest.

76

Average Rating: 7/10
Critic Reviews: 17
Fresh: 13 | Rotten: 4

In its portrayal of a woman's awakening and disillusionment, Forty Shades of Blue is as nuanced as its title would suggest.

audience

46

liked it
Average Rating: 3.1/5
User Ratings: 1,274

My Rating

Movie Info

A woman who has drifted away from her boyfriend's affections finds love in the arms of his son in this independent drama. Laura (Dina Korzun) is an attractive woman in her early thirties who was living in her native Russia when she met Alan James (Rip Torn), a legendary music producer from Memphis. Alan brought Laura back to the United States and moved in with her, but now that the couple have a three-year-old son, Laura finds herself a stranger in the city she now calls home and is growing

R, 1 hr. 47 min.

Art House & International, Drama

May 16, 2006

First Look

Cast

All Critics (65) | Top Critics (18) | Fresh (33) | Rotten (21) | DVD (5)

It contains some very good performances and some finely observed writing.

February 2, 2006 Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | Comment
Arizona Republic
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... both emotionally captivating and elusive ...

January 27, 2006 Full Review Source: Toronto Star | Comment
Toronto Star
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Subtle and morose to a fault, in the end it's just Junebug, another Sundance downer, without the heart.

December 16, 2005 Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | Comment
Orlando Sentinel
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Ira Sachs' story of hereditary malaise, passed from father to son, will disappoint anyone looking for a propulsive narrative or slam-bang excitement. But it will amply reward patient viewers who prefer a slow burn.

December 8, 2005 Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | Comment
Dallas Morning News
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[Torn's] acting so well he not only creates this character, but makes him into an object lesson.

November 3, 2005 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | Comment
Chicago Sun-Times
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Forty Shades of Blue hits you like a shot of moonshine whiskey. Right in the gut, with a buzz that just keeps going.

November 3, 2005 Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | Comment
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Aspires to tell us something revealing about compromised souls.

February 20, 2009 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | Comment
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Forty Shades of Blue is wonderfully unconventional, truthful and touching.

November 25, 2008 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | Comment
Slant Magazine

The 13 minutes of deleted scenes would, if restored, add little to the film's overall coherence - but the same might be said of many of the scenes that made the final cut.

September 26, 2007 Full Review Source: Film4 | Comment

This plodding mood-piece is as emotionally engaging as a paint catalogue.

June 15, 2007 Full Review Source: Film4 | Comment

...a sporadically well-acted curiosity.

August 5, 2006 Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | Comment
Reel Film Reviews

Impressively directed, low-key drama that really gets under your skin, thanks to strong performances from its three leads.

June 29, 2006 Full Review Source: ViewLondon | Comment
ViewLondon

Get it [Forty Shades of Blue] while you can.

June 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | Comment
Slant Magazine

Korzun . . . is a non-presence, a brittle facade . . . a sketchy screenplay [adds up to] Zero Depths of Feeling . . . a flat, tasteless, faux-Euromance.

May 11, 2006 Comment
Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)

A gorgeously grim portrait of regrets and lost opportunities, Ira Sach's tender and heartbreaking drama is supremely subtle in how it emotionally flays its characters to lay bare their unspoken anguish...

April 30, 2006 Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | Comment
Flick Filosopher
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Forty Shades of Blue

A cantankerous music star's son visits for an awards ceremony then has an affair with his father's young wife.The highlight of this film is Dina Korzun's morose and oftentimes inscrutable performance; the few moments when her vulnerability shows through - crying in bed after having sex with her husband as an example -

September 19, 2011
hunterjt13
Jim Hunter

Super Reviewer

Fabulous little indie film that concentrates on the kind of character who you usually only glimpse and then forget about in most films: in this case a Russian lover to a much older American man. The performances from Dina Korzun, Rip Torn and Darren Burrows are all Oscar worthy, and the film won the Grand Jury Prize at

January 26, 2007
danieljparsons

Super Reviewer

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Latest News for Forty Shades of Blue

January 31, 2005:
"Forty Shades of Blue" Takes Top Award at Sundance
Ira Sachs' "Forty Shades of Blue" took the grad prize for drama at Sundance, the New York...

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