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No consensus yet.
All Critics (37) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (34) | Rotten (3) | DVD (1)
The questions this movie raises about the medical establishment, drug testing and the clash between science and compassion cannot fail to evoke the battles raging over AIDS. Lorenzo's Oil is strong medicine indeed. Feb 13, 2018 | Full Review…
The questions this movie raises about the medical establishment, drug testing and the clash between science and compassion cannot fail to evoke the battles raging over AIDS. Lorenzo's Oil is strong medicine indeed.
David Ansen
If any movie of recent years deserves to be called "inspirational"--a much-abused term that one hesitates to revive apart from exceptional circumstances--this one certainly does. Oct 7, 2012 | Full Review…
If any movie of recent years deserves to be called "inspirational"--a much-abused term that one hesitates to revive apart from exceptional circumstances--this one certainly does.
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Sarandon ... convincingly conveys a fierceness and tenacity that is almost frightening. The character never lets up, and neither does the film. Mar 26, 2009 | Full Review…
Sarandon ... convincingly conveys a fierceness and tenacity that is almost frightening. The character never lets up, and neither does the film.
Variety Staff
The film comes over as a tour de force version of the disease-of-the-week TV movie: half scientific detective story, half domestic drama, replete with scenes of suffering. Feb 9, 2006 | Full Review…
The film comes over as a tour de force version of the disease-of-the-week TV movie: half scientific detective story, half domestic drama, replete with scenes of suffering.
Geoff Andrew
This film has an appealingly brisk, unsentimental style and a rare ability to compress and convey detailed medical data. May 20, 2003 | Rating: 4/5
This film has an appealingly brisk, unsentimental style and a rare ability to compress and convey detailed medical data.
Janet Maslin
Don't go to it for a Hollywood happy ending. Go to it to learn what it can take to be alive. Jan 1, 2000 | Full Review…
Don't go to it for a Hollywood happy ending. Go to it to learn what it can take to be alive.
Desson Thomson
It is as if we are being jollied along and made to realize, in case we weren't capable of getting there by ourselves, 'this is terribly sad', and, 'this is tremendously uplifting.' Jul 24, 2018 | Full Review…
It is as if we are being jollied along and made to realize, in case we weren't capable of getting there by ourselves, 'this is terribly sad', and, 'this is tremendously uplifting.'
Vanessa Letts
While difficult to watch, it becomes a positive, even heroic adventure, lifted by heavenly strains of music of Mozart and Mahler, Barber and Elgar...a tale of extraordinary commitment and courage. Apr 25, 2018 | Full Review…
While difficult to watch, it becomes a positive, even heroic adventure, lifted by heavenly strains of music of Mozart and Mahler, Barber and Elgar...a tale of extraordinary commitment and courage.
Malcolm Johnson
This curious element, inserted in a fiction that is so traditional that it seems fusty and that [director George] Miller serves with dynamism and conviction... [Full review in Spanish] Apr 3, 2018 | Full Review…
This curious element, inserted in a fiction that is so traditional that it seems fusty and that [director George] Miller serves with dynamism and conviction... [Full review in Spanish]
Casimiro Torreiro
Intense film about a boy's fatal illness has heavy themes. Aug 30, 2016 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…
Intense film about a boy's fatal illness has heavy themes.
Barbara Shulgasser
Lumbers along worthily. Oct 7, 2012 | Full Review…
Lumbers along worthily.
Film4 Staff
Exhausting, intelligent and undeniably moving. Oct 7, 2012 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…
Exhausting, intelligent and undeniably moving.
Angie Errigo
There's nothing more horrible than watching an innocent young child suffer in agony. In this heart-gripping drama, we follow two desperate parents (Nick Nolte and Susan Sarandon) as they struggle to find a cure for their son, who has fallen victim to a rare disease known as ALD. Fine performances by everyone in the cast, and in particular by Zack O'Malley, who does some of the best acting I've ever seen by someone of his age. You're truly enveloped by the pain that he goes through, which often makes it an uncomfortable watch. Seldom have I felt so engaged as to the outcome of a character's fate. And I can imagine it must be even more compelling to those who are parents themselves. A powerful story altogether, that despite some tendencies to drag, will leave you affected in one way or another.
Super Reviewer
A great true story, but it's so boring as a film. I had to watch this in a class I had once, and I just couldn't get into it, it was dull. I'd only recommend this to real die hard drama fans who love real life stories played realistically. Overall, it's pretty good, but could have been more exciting.
Emotionally harrowing film of a dedicated and persistent couple's struggle to find help for their son when he falls victim to a terminal illness. Intensely real performance by Susan Sarandon and a strong one from Nick Nolte although his accent while accurate for the character makes it difficult to understand him occasionally. Beautifully true supporting performances but it is hard to watch what Lorenzo has to go through. A shattering experience at times but worthwhile.
Criminally underseen and astonishingly powerful.
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