1917
Just Mercy
Pain and Glory (Dolor y gloria)
Dare Me
Got more questions about news letters? Email support@rottentomatoes.com
Already have an account? Log in here
Please enter your email address and we will email you a new password.
We want to hear what you have to say but need to verify your account. Just leave us a message here and we will work on getting you verified.
Please reference “Error Code 2121” when contacting customer service.
American Pastoral finds debuting director Ewan McGregor's reach exceeding its grasp with a well-intentioned Philip Roth adaptation that retains the form, but little of the function, of its source material.
Tap to review this movie
Super Reviewer
Rate this movie
Oof, that was Rotten.
Meh, it passed the time.
It’s good – I’d recommend it.
Awesome!
So Fresh: Absolute Must See!
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
Step 2 of 2
Fandango
AMC (Coming Soon)
We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
Cinemark (Coming Soon)
Regal (Coming Soon)
Bought somewhere else
By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.
Rent or buy
All Critics (116) | Top Critics (38) | Fresh (25) | Rotten (91)
McGregor and Connelly are good as dad and mum, Hannah Nordberg and Dakota Fanning even better as, at different ages, Merry. Dec 27, 2016 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…
McGregor and Connelly are good as dad and mum, Hannah Nordberg and Dakota Fanning even better as, at different ages, Merry.
Nigel Andrews
It's honourable, it's well-intentioned, but it's lame. Nov 13, 2016 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…
It's honourable, it's well-intentioned, but it's lame.
David Sexton
It is, however, a heartfelt and painstaking attempt at dealing in filmic terms with the complex and ambiguous subject matter of the book. Nov 10, 2016 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…
It is, however, a heartfelt and painstaking attempt at dealing in filmic terms with the complex and ambiguous subject matter of the book.
Geoffrey Macnab
Ewan McGregor's directorial debut doesn't do justice to Philip Roth's great book. Nov 10, 2016 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…
Ewan McGregor's directorial debut doesn't do justice to Philip Roth's great book.
Kevin Maher
McGregor's performance has sincerity of a frowningly oppressive kind, but the whole thing is tinged with self-pity. Nov 10, 2016 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…
McGregor's performance has sincerity of a frowningly oppressive kind, but the whole thing is tinged with self-pity.
Peter Bradshaw
Roth's book, which attends with horror and dismay to the forces ripping America apart in the second half of the 20th century, has suffered a treatment that mechanically extracts its guts. Nov 10, 2016 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…
Roth's book, which attends with horror and dismay to the forces ripping America apart in the second half of the 20th century, has suffered a treatment that mechanically extracts its guts.
Tim Robey
Proving to have a beautiful directorial eye....and chronologically efficient script by John Romano that retains the emotional and historical depth and richness of Roth's work, [Ewan] McGregor now delivers an immersive and compelling work. Oct 30, 2019 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…
Proving to have a beautiful directorial eye....and chronologically efficient script by John Romano that retains the emotional and historical depth and richness of Roth's work, [Ewan] McGregor now delivers an immersive and compelling work.
Debbie Lynn Elias
As a first effort, McGregor's directorial debut is lacking, but perhaps he chose to bite off a huge chunk by taking on a literary masterpiece. Sep 19, 2019 | Rating: 2.5/5 | Full Review…
As a first effort, McGregor's directorial debut is lacking, but perhaps he chose to bite off a huge chunk by taking on a literary masterpiece.
Allison Rose
Love can be the wind in someone's sails or the anchor dragging them down to the bottom of the sea; McGregor wants to explore both sides. Jul 28, 2019 | Full Review…
Love can be the wind in someone's sails or the anchor dragging them down to the bottom of the sea; McGregor wants to explore both sides.
Victor Stiff
McGregor can't quite pull off the cockishness and larger-than-life zeal of a young Swede: he seems already beaten somewhat when we meet him, meaning that his fall into ignominy is less jarring than it should be. Apr 17, 2019 | Rating: 6/10 | Full Review…
McGregor can't quite pull off the cockishness and larger-than-life zeal of a young Swede: he seems already beaten somewhat when we meet him, meaning that his fall into ignominy is less jarring than it should be.
Julie Crawford
...the trouble with American Pastoral is that these individually competent scenes are strung together into an inchoate whole. Dec 27, 2018 | Rating: C- | Full Review…
...the trouble with American Pastoral is that these individually competent scenes are strung together into an inchoate whole.
Nathanael Hood
There are plenty of good scenes, but ultimately American Pastoral is less than the sum of its admirable parts. The story is meant to capture an American event through one man's misadventures, but the overall effect is of a painful melodrama. Aug 23, 2018 | Full Review…
There are plenty of good scenes, but ultimately American Pastoral is less than the sum of its admirable parts. The story is meant to capture an American event through one man's misadventures, but the overall effect is of a painful melodrama.
Asia Frey
There are no approved quotes yet for this movie.
View All