The Playroom (2013)
Average Rating: 6.2/10
Reviews Counted: 21
Fresh: 11 | Rotten: 10
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 6.1/10
Critic Reviews: 11
Fresh: 6 | Rotten: 5
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 296
My Rating
Movie Info
In 1970s suburbia, Maggie and her younger siblings spend the night telling each other stories in the attic. Downstairs, as their parents entertain guests over the course of a gin-soaked evening, truths are unearthed and betrayals come to light. With standout performances from John Hawkes, Molly Parker, and a cast of talented young actors, Julia Dyer's second feature is an honest and challenging look at the reality behind the façade of a seemingly perfect American family. -- (C) Freestyle
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Cast
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John Hawkes
Martin Cantwell -
Molly Parker
Donna Cantwell -
Olivia Harris
Maggie Cantwell -
Jonathon McClendon
Christian Cantwell -
Alexandra Doke
Janie Cantwell -
Ian Veteto
Sam Cantwell -
Jonathan Brooks
Clark Knotts -
Lydia Mackay
Nadia Knotts -
Cody Linley
Ryan
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All Critics (21) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (11) | Rotten (10)
You have your basic family psychodrama, except there's no real heat either downstairs or up.
Top CriticStandout Olivia Harris and Parker are heart-wrenching as the vitriolic mother and neglected teen daughter.
Modest in scale, it's the kind of American independent film that brings some honor to that shopworn descriptor.
The film uses the upper-middle-class setting effectively, even as it resorts to heavy-handed symbolism and melodrama in its dour, mostly unforgiving portrait of parental dysfunction.
A detailed, and depressing portrait of grim, forced independence. Lightened only by the sense that if these kids are learning anything, it is how to survive.
This imitation "Ice Storm" is as refreshing as a step into a puddle of slush.
Molly Parker is Oscar-worthy in the juicy role of John Hawkes' alcoholic, stylish, sexy/pathetic wife.
The stuff with the adults is drab and stale, but the kids' scenes are excellent.
In the tradition of The Ice Storm, The Playroom revisits 1970s suburbia, when the chilly civility between husband and Stepford wife bumps up against the sexual revolution.
It's a misfire from screenwriter Gretchen Dyer and director Julia Dyer, who can't connect the puzzle pieces, resulting in a movie of attentive performances working through ill-defined storytelling.
If The Ice Storm was a band, think of this as the minor-chord, label-unsigned, opening act for its opening act. Lovingly captured but dramatically inert.
A reliance on melodrama prevents a deeper and more insightful glimpse into the characters and subject matter.
Parents seek joy, ignore kids in difficult, powerful drama.
A chamber piece cousin to The Ice Storm, The Playroom hones in on the mentality of so many irresponsible '70s era parents whose children grew up to be much better people than their parents.
What little story there is has no sense of real life, no matter much the film pretends to be about children learning hard truths.
Lacking much in the way of character depth, the film attempts to fill the gap with melodrama.
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This stagey variation on 'The Ice Storm' seriously wastes its acting talent with a tired, cliched and pretentious script. The seventies setting only seems to serve as an excuse to play a few tunes from the era. Newcomer Harris is impressive as the eldest daughter, and will go on to bigger and better things undoubtedly, but if you tuned randomly into any soap opera episode it wouldn't be much worse than this.