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08/07/08
The Shape of Things (2003)
65 %
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 133
Fresh: 86
Rotten:47
Average Rating: 6.3/10
Consensus: LaBute returns to his earlier themes of cruelty in relationships, and the results hit hard.
Synopsis: Rachel Weisz, Paul Rudd, Gretchen Mol, and Frederick Weller star in Neil LaBute's adaptation of his own stage play, which also featured all four actors. The film focuses on the unlikely romance between precocious art grad student Evelyn... [More]
Starring: Rachel Weisz, Paul Rudd, Gretchen Mol, Frederick Weller
Director: Neil LaBute
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Reviews for The Shape of Things
When the players themselves are conceived this superficially, LaBute winds up invalidating his own point.
02/12/08
Neil LaBute is among the more interesting cinematic talents to emerge these past half-dozen years.
02/12/08
LaBute gives us a sequence of scathing emotional violence that outdoes anything I've seen this year.
09/23/07
LaBute's observations about our self-destructive obsession with appearances may not be original, but his ability to create articulate, provocative characters is.
07/10/07
Go see The Shape of Things, a peculiarly acted, nasty caper, and decide for yourself whether we are being set up by LaBute with a manipulative device or if he is speaking to our frailties and telling truths.
08/17/06
The actors all benefit from intimate knowledge of difficult parts, and barbs at modern art and sexual mores do cut through.
04/01/06
There are barbs here to tickle anyone's paranoia, but the callousness isn't illustrative, just exploitative.
02/09/06
LaBute returns to familiar territory (albeit with a gender twist) that would have been best left unvisited.
08/04/04
Rachel Weisz's brilliantly layered performance as Evelyn -- barbed, vehement and oddly sorrowful -- keeps all options open.
01/06/04
Some critics have called the film stolid and stagy. I think the way it sits still and looks hard is just the point, and the key to its effect.
01/04/04
...holds the dubious distinction of being the laziest stage-to-screen transfer I've ever seen.
12/18/03
Provocateur LaBute not only dramatically throws the 'c' word at us in this film, but he also goes to great lengths to show us one.
11/19/03
Well-acted and deliberately stagey, this is a controversial, typically misogynistic tale from writer-director Neil LaBute that is certain to divide both critics and audiences alike.
10/26/03
The commercially minded Nurse Betty aside, it’s Neil LaBute’s weakest work. But even on a bad day, he’s better than most.
10/01/03
The Shape of Things continues that cat-and-mouse game of wits, a kind of rebellion against viewer complacency.
09/16/03
Latest News for The Shape of Things
August 31, 2006:
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February 17, 2006:
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The ever-likable Paul Rudd has joined the cast of "Reno 911! Miami," says Larry Carroll of MTV Movies, which is good news for comedy fans in general. Mr. Rudd... More...
Related Forums for The Shape of Things
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by: rakastaa 1/30/04
by: rakastaa 1/30/04
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