Do you want to see ‘The Yellow Handkerchief’?

The Yellow Handkerchief (2008)

tomatometer

All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 6.1/10
Reviews Counted: 47
Fresh: 32 | Rotten: 15

Small and intimate -- occasionally to a fault -- The Yellow Handkerchief rises above its overly familiar ingredients thanks to riveting performances from William Hurt and Kristen Stewart.

Average Rating: 6.9/10
Critic Reviews: 18
Fresh: 15 | Rotten: 3

Small and intimate -- occasionally to a fault -- The Yellow Handkerchief rises above its overly familiar ingredients thanks to riveting performances from William Hurt and Kristen Stewart.

audience

liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 12,128

My Rating

Added to your Facebook Timeline. — undo

Movie Info

A band of outsiders takes to the highways in this touching independent drama. Brett (William Hurt) is a petty criminal who is eager to turn his life around after spending six years in jail. Brett is looking for a ride home to Louisiana, and happens upon a pair of teenagers up for a road trip -- Martine (Kristen Stewart), a 15-year-old girl whose attempts to catch the eye of a boy she loves have ended in failure, and Gordy (Eddie Redmayne), a geeky outcast wishing he could find somewhere to fit

PG-13, 1 hr. 42 min.

Drama, Romance

Directed By: Udayan Prasad

Written By: Erin Dignam

In Theaters: Feb 26, 2010 Wide

On DVD: Jul 1, 2010

Box Office:$0.2M

Samuel Goldwyn Films

This is basically brooding people doing awkward things in a humid environment.

April 2, 2010 Full Review Source: Detroit News

| Comment

Tom Long

Detroit News

Top Critic

The Yellow Handkerchief is a love story. Two, really. At its center is the sweetly fractured ticking of a broken heart on the mend.

March 12, 2010 Full Review Source: Washington Post

| Comment

Michael O'Sullivan

Washington Post

Top Critic

This modest but moving indie ensemble piece puts three estimable actors in a convertible, sets them on a long drive to post-Katrina Louisiana and lets the character dynamics do the rest.

March 12, 2010 Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune

| Comment

Colin Covert

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Top Critic

The Yellow Handkerchief is a surprisingly moving drama -- a throwback to the small, character-driven indies of yesteryear.

March 12, 2010 Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer

| Comment

Steven Rea

Philadelphia Inquirer

Top Critic

Even Stewart, an untutored colt of an actress who can toggle between natural grace and utter haplessness, finds her groove here.

March 12, 2010 Full Review Source: Boston Globe

| Comment

Ty Burr

Boston Globe

Top Critic

You don't need an original story for a movie. You need original characters and living dialogue.

March 11, 2010 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times

| Comment

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Top Critic

Taking time off from vampire infatuation but still into Native male magnets, Kristen Stewart does a snobby sexpot, while the bayou weepie conjures a relentless alien place where crocodiles, snakes and eccentric when not unhinged redneck humans roam free

October 14, 2010 Full Review Source: Reelrave

| Comment

Prairie Miller

Reelrave

A well-acted little film, The Yellow Handkerchief captures the loneliness of these characters and the sparks of hope they harbor, despite everything.

August 11, 2010 Full Review Source: San Diego Union-Tribune

| Comment

Alison Gang

San Diego Union-Tribune

This uplifting film is an indie gem with a wonderful payoff that will bring you to tears. The acting is superlative and makes this emotionally moving experience good to the last drop.

May 15, 2010 Full Review Source: Entertainment Spectrum

| Comment

Keith Cohen

Entertainment Spectrum Source: Entertainment Spectrum

When The Yellow Handkerchief finally hooks into the meat of Hamill's source story, the narrative tension puts enough wind in the film's sails to arrive at its corny but sentimentally satisfying conclusion.

April 2, 2010 Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle

| Comment

Kimberley Jones

Austin Chronicle

William Hurt and Kristen Stewart and a long, sleepy road

April 2, 2010 Full Review Source: Metro Times (Detroit, MI)

| Comment

Corey Hall

Metro Times (Detroit, MI)

Unfortunately, the precision and presence Hurt brings to the table aren't enough to carry this warmed-over Southern melodrama.

April 1, 2010 Full Review Source: Oregonian

| Comment

Marc Mohan

Oregonian

The only positive thing about the aimless film The Yellow Handkerchief is the idea that William Hurt may be ready for his Jeff Bridges moment.

April 1, 2010 Comment

Connie Ogle

Miami Herald

The unhurried direction of Udayan Prasad and the unafraid choices of the sure-footed cast keep this character-driven drama afloat.

April 1, 2010 Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

| Comment

Joe Williams

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Never feels like anything but a movie with its characters who constantly say what they're feeling and doing and it never once feels genuine or organic.

March 16, 2010 Full Review Source: Movie Retriever

| Comment

Brian Tallerico

Movie Retriever

The story arc of Handkerchief is entirely predictable, and the direction is pedestrian. But its pleasures are to be found in the graceful acting of Hurt and Bello...

March 12, 2010 Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press

| Comment

Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)

St. Paul Pioneer Press

It's a road movie, so everyone argues, then confides in one another, then come out besties in the end. And if you can't guess where the central, broken romance is heading, finding out is as easy as a song.

March 11, 2010 Full Review Source: Washington City Paper

| Comment

Tricia Olszewski

Washington City Paper

Prasad's take on the well-traveled folk tale (it didn't originate with Hamill -- he was just smart enough to put it down on paper) won't win any Oscars...

March 10, 2010 Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix

| Comment

Brett Michel

Boston Phoenix

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Yellow Handkerchief

View All

A love lost in the past. A love struggling for a future.Good movie. Kinda of a slow story but develops really well if you have the patience. The film's perspective is about tolerance, acceptance of things as they are, and forgiveness for loved ones and above all for ones self. A very good performance from William Hurt

August 23, 2010

Manu Gino

Super Reviewer

The legendary William Hurt does a fantastic job in this moving, yet rather slow, drama. The performances by all were subtle, layered, and charming. A really good story told in a really nice way, with an extremely touching ending. Good Indie flick.

November 21, 2011

Cynthia S.

Super Reviewer

The Yellow Handkerchief Quotes

View All

No quotes approved yet for The Yellow Handkerchief. Logged in users can submit quotes.

Submit a Quote from 'The Yellow Handkerchief'

A quote can be a single line from one character or a memorable dialog between several characters. Please make your quotes accurate. Quotes will be submitted for approval by the RT staff.

Example:

Luke: Alright. I'll give it a try.
Yoda: No. Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.

Character	Quote
	Enter quote here...	Delete

Add another line to this dialog...

Let me know when its ready...

We can send you a notification e-mail when your quote has been reviewed by our editors.


or

Use my Facebook e-mail to contact me

Hide

DVD

Top Rentals

35%	The Hangover Part II
25%	Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Par...
81%	Kung Fu Panda 2
44%	Cowboys & Aliens
83%	Rise of the Planet of the Apes

More…

New On DVD This Week

25%	Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Par...
88%	Lady and the Tramp
69%	A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas
21%	Fireflies in the Garden
45%	The Rebound

More…

Latest News for The Yellow Handkerchief

January 22, 2008:

William Hurt Sheds Light on Iron Man/Incredible Hulk Crossover
An Avengers movie starring the principals from various Marvel-related superhero films still seems...

View All