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Reviews Counted:12
Fresh:1
Rotten:11
Average Rating:3.8/10
Rated: R [See Full Rating]
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:2008
Synopsis: Based on a successful Irish play by acclaimed writer Joseph O’Connor, and directed by Tamar Simon Hoffs, Red Roses and Petrol is a darkly comedic drama and a tour-de-force showcase for Malcolm... [More]
Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Susan Lynch, Max Beesley, Greg Ellis
Director: Tamar Simon Hoffs
If, as Tolstoy observed, happy families are alike, and each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way, the Dublin-set film Red Roses and Petrol didn't get the message, being a dysfunctional clan movie that feels dispiritingly like all the others.
Top CriticI’d rather just sit in on one of my own families squabbles; we’re much more entertaining.
Because Petrol is so grim, its few moments of repentance and reconciliation don't feel as contrived as they might otherwise; if any film has earned the right to be sentimental, it's this one.
Top CriticTamar Simon Hoffs's bland-as-boiled-cabbage adaptation of Joseph O'Connor's play finally hobbles into theaters, reminding us every 15 seconds that just because it looks distinctly American and was shot in California, it's a fookin' Irish movie.
Top CriticAs bland and effortless to consume as a Fig Newton (sickly sweet goo included), this rote entry in the dysfunctional-family-gathers-at-a-funeral genre makes no demands on its viewers beyond a limp appeal to the tear ducts.
With her static camera, director and co-writer Tamar Simon Hoffs has done little to move it out of its staginess.
Little about the Doyles makes you want to partake of their sour hospitality, even if it’s only for an hour and a half.
Top CriticAs even a novice moviegoer would expect, they argue and drink, then argue and drink some more.
Top CriticSolid performances and a literary feel help turn a standard family-rift drama into a dry but saucy narrative.
Top CriticHoffs locks down her characters in unimaginatively framed medium shots, while mixing in a few monochromatic flashbacks, some video footage of the dead patriarch and two fast-cut sequences in a vain attempt at visual variety.
Mired by cliché and oddly beset by a sense of false Irishness.
In Red Roses and Petrol, a soused, post-funeral postmortem on a dysfunctional Dublin family, the misery seeps from the screen in cold, damp waves; by the end you’ll be grabbing for the bottle yourself.
Top CriticClick to read the article
Top Critic
June 15, 2008:
Trailer & Poster review
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