The Slaughter Rule (2002)
Average Rating: 5.9/10
Reviews Counted: 30
Fresh: 22 | Rotten: 8
A bleak but original indie, The Slaughter Rule benefits from outstanding performances by Ryan Gosling and David Morse.
Average Rating: 5.6/10
Critic Reviews: 9
Fresh: 7 | Rotten: 2
A bleak but original indie, The Slaughter Rule benefits from outstanding performances by Ryan Gosling and David Morse.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.1/5
User Ratings: 807
Movie Info
A teenager at a personal crossroads finds himself questioning the things that have given his life meaning in this independent coming-of-age drama. Roy Chutney (Ryan Gosling) is a high school senior in a small Montana town. Roy doesn't have an especially close relationship with his mother Evangelline (Kelly Lynch), and he hasn't seen his father in years. That doesn't prevent Roy from feeling emotionally devastated when he learns that his father has killed himself, and Roy's self-esteem takes a
Watch It Now
Cast
-
Ryan Gosling
Roy Chutney -
David Morse
Gideon Ferguson -
Clea DuVall
Skyla Sisco -
David Cale
Studebaker -
Eddie Spears
Tracy Two Dogs -
Kelly Lynch
Evangeline Chutney -
Amy Adams
Doreen
ADVERTISEMENT
All Critics (31) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (22) | Rotten (8) | DVD (3)
Having made his name as a ferocious, self-hating Jewish skinhead in The Believer, 22-year-old Ryan Gosling gives another memorable performance as a lonely, world-hating fatherless quarterback in The Slaughter Rule.
Top CriticAs compellingly played by Morse, a great actor who gives pic more than it gives him, Gideon comes off as a sensitive soul who knows how risky it can be to appear too sensitive in a small town.
David Morse, who's spent the last 20 years kicking around network television and building up an resume of impressive movie credits, establishes himself as a truly formidable presence in this powerful first feature by Alex and Andrew Smith.
Writer-directors Andrew and Alex Smith go for emotional truth, but what they come up with is often silly.
Unlike Terrence Malick, whose shadow looms over the film's visual style, the Smiths over-explain, not grasping that all those barren fields and blood-red clouds are doing plenty of work for them.
Its focus on the complex relationship between an emotionally wounded youth and the sexually ambiguous older man who mentors him is a welcome detour from genre routine.
The writing and directing team of twin brothers Alex and Andrew Smith have made an astonishingly good first feature.
[Gosling] once again shows how magnetic he can be in challenging roles.
The film's powerful meditation on masculinity gets much of its credibility and punch from the two leads, especially Morse, a reliable character actor who sinks his teeth into a role with heavy physical and psychological demands.
Gosling and Morse give strong performances in this bitter pill movie.
Everyone's got demons to deal with -- from Gideon's guilt over a kid that played for him and died under mysterious circumstances to the audience's unwillingness to sit through two hours of yet another inspirational football movie.
Best movie I saw in 2002. Features a terrifyingly real performance by David Morse.
Montana's wide-open spaces -- and the closed hearts of the people who live there -- make for a sincere, superbly acted story of loss and need.
A timid template of an indie movie that glides through all the proper turns, sticks up all the appropriate signposts, and never once takes a demanding or truthful step.
A keen and compassionate drama.
Clear, cold and yet uniquely sensitive, The Slaughter Rule isn't a by-the-book flick, but that's what makes it so good.
None of the characters' troubled histories or transformations are as compelling as Gosling and Duvall's unforced emotional complexity would promise or merit.
The movie has a richness that blows away most first features, not to mention most sports movies.
Beautiful in its stark way.
The film's real strength lies in two excellent performances, from veteran Morse and up-and-comer Gosling.
First-time filmmakers Andrew and Alex Smith have a potentially intriguing and very different tale, but they consistently shoot themselves in the foot with their amateurishly self-conscious direction.
Audience Reviews for The Slaughter Rule
Super Reviewer
Discussion Forum
There are no discussion threads for The Slaughter Rule yet.
What's Hot On RT
Jack the Giant Slayer and...
War Rages in 300: Rise of an Empire
See the Desolation of Smaug trailer!
Where does This Is the End rank?
Fresh Links
Featured
Movie: ID: 770691917 Title: The Slaughter Rule Release Date: 2002-01-11 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 4 Status: 1
The Looks of Johnny Depp
To celebrate the star's birthday, BuzzSugar looks at the many faces of Johnny Depp.
10 Egregious Product Placements
Rolling Stone wonders if The Internship goes too far... then provides 10 examples of movies that did.
Horror Movie Mistakes
Moviefone offers up 8 of the most obvious glaring errors in popular fright flicks.
10 Bad Movies That Look Great
Sometimes even terrible movies can be beautiful; here are 10 of them, from HitFix.
50 Most Classic Movie Moms
In celebration of Mother's Day, TimeOut offers up 50 iconic matriarchs from the big screen.
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter!
Spice up your feed with hourly Tomatometer updates!
Featured on RT
- RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Jack the Giant Slayer and Quartet 9
- Box Office Guru Wrapup: Man of Steel Sets June Record 96
- Weekly Ketchup: Man of Steel Sequel In the Works 162
- Five Favorite Films with Joss Whedon 112
- Bonus Footage of the Cast & Crew of Man of Steel 1
- Critics Consensus: Man of Steel Is Up, Up, and Okay 277
- Total Recall: Superman Movies 143
Top Headlines
-
Sony Sets Dates for Amazing Spider-Man 3 and 4
3
-
Man of Steel 2 Rumored for 2014
3
-
No Loki in The Avengers 2
1
-
Watch Natalie Portman's The Professional Audition
0
-
John C. Reilly's Guardians of the Galaxy Role Revealed
5
-
Arnold Schwarzenegger Confirms His Expendables 3 Return
1
-
The Muppets...Again! Is Now Muppets Most Wanted
0
[font=Century Gothic]"The Slaughter Rule" is a deliberately paced movie that takes full advantage of its unique setting in rural Montana. The beautiful scenery contrasts wonderfully with the hardscrabble lives of the characters. I thought it did a very realistic job of portraying small town life especially for the teenagers. I wish it had made more of a statement concerning masculinity, though. The performances are fine, especially David Morse who finally gets to play a character he can sink his teeth into.[/font]
[font=Century Gothic]Note: On Saturday, I saw "Dallas 362" where Kelly Lynch plays a widowed mother. In "The Slaughter Rule", she plays a character who is officially divorced when her ex-husband is killed. Is this a trend or am I really having one of those weeks?[/font]