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Lawless Heart (2001)

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Average Rating: 7.2/10
Reviews Counted: 51
Fresh: 44 | Rotten: 7

Unconventional and refreshing, this strikingly un-Hollywood film takes a quiet and heartbreaking look at the warmth and inspiration of friendships lost.

Average Rating: 7.2/10
Critic Reviews: 22
Fresh: 19 | Rotten: 3

Unconventional and refreshing, this strikingly un-Hollywood film takes a quiet and heartbreaking look at the warmth and inspiration of friendships lost.

audience

liked it
Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 454

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Movie Info

This second feature from Boyfriends' directors Neil Hunter and Tom Hunsinger explores intertwined relationships in a sleepy seaside resort in the U.K., broken up into three segments. The film centers around the funeral of Stuart (David Coffey), the gay partner of Nick (Tom Hollander), who owns a local restaurant. Stuart's brother-in-law Dan (Bill Nighy) is a depressive farmer who lives with his wife Judy (Ellie Haddington) and becomes smitten with a French woman named Corinne (Clementine

R, 1 hr. 26 min.

Drama, Comedy

Directed By: Tom Hunsinger , Neil Hunter

Written By: Neil Hunter, Tom Hunsinger

In Theaters: Dec 1, 2002 Wide

On DVD: Aug 19, 2003

First Look

Lawless Heart is so well crafted, so original, that each overlapping scene swells with new life and interpretation.

July 10, 2003 Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune

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Robert K. Elder

Chicago Tribune

Top Critic

The situations are forced; love blossoms way too easily; and the characters are downright daft.

June 5, 2003 Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News

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Charles Ealy

Dallas Morning News

Top Critic

The writing-directing pair of Neil Hunter and Tom Hunsinger create a fairly seamless patchwork, although the novelty starts to wear thin by the third layer.

May 15, 2003 Comment

Randy Cordova

Arizona Republic

Top Critic

It's an intriguing experience.

May 9, 2003 Comment

Desson Thomson

Washington Post

Top Critic

Shows us small revelations only an opened heart can grasp.

May 8, 2003 Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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Eleanor Ringel Gillespie

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Top Critic

It's an ambitious attempt, but one which too often puts form ahead of story.

May 2, 2003 Full Review Source: Toronto Star

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Peter Howell

Toronto Star

Top Critic

Mildly engaging melodrama that's more sharply written than directed.

June 19, 2011 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

Subtle in its use of cause and effect, Lawless Heart is a light-hearted study of relationships and regret, of last chances and lessons in love.

April 30, 2004 Full Review Source: Las Vegas CityLife

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Matt Kelemen

Las Vegas CityLife Source: Las Vegas CityLife

A guy's flick whose charms are many and faults are few.

August 29, 2003 Comment

Emily Russin

Seattle Times

A modern and mature story about love and loving, a film as intelligent as it is charming.

August 22, 2003 Full Review Source: Miami Herald

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Marta Barber

Miami Herald

Like so many British movies, it seems made for actors who make what they humanly can of it, their expertise meshing.

August 1, 2003 Full Review Source: San Diego Union-Tribune

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George Varga

San Diego Union-Tribune

The skill with which these temporalities are connected is considerable.

July 8, 2003 Full Review Source: eye WEEKLY

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Adam Nayman

eye WEEKLY

Never shouts out its emotional explorations. Instead, it employs a soft, secure voice, and the viewer is lulled even more by the authentic, unadorned performances of a strong ensemble.

June 13, 2003 Full Review Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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Laura Kelly

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

There is a real honesty to this British comedy-drama that is appealing, and which also makes its soap-opera plot a bit easier to swallow.

June 6, 2003 Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City

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Jeff Vice

Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Complex but never confusing -- thanks to the three-act structure, which replays the same moments from different perspectives.

June 6, 2003 Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune

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Sean Means

Salt Lake Tribune

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Audience Reviews for Lawless Heart

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After a man's funeral, three stories featuring friends and relatives of the deceased are interwoven.I really enjoyed this film's concept. When the first story ends and the film focuses on another character, the film becomes a kind of mystery as we try to figure out what all the incidental details of the story mean.

September 18, 2011