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Critics Consensus: Stone boasts a cast that includes Robert De Niro, Edward Norton, and Milla Jovovich, and it features strong dialogue, but it's ultimately undone by its heavy-handed symbolism and overabundant plot twists.
Critic Consensus: Stone boasts a cast that includes Robert De Niro, Edward Norton, and Milla Jovovich, and it features strong dialogue, but it's ultimately undone by its heavy-handed symbolism and overabundant plot twists.
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All Critics (97) | Top Critics (28) | Fresh (49) | Rotten (48) | DVD (2)
A disconcerting and challenging film. It leaves you wondering. How cool is that?
You can feel the movie's gears grinding throughout, first in the rote suspense mechanics and later in the ham-fisted religiosity (conveyed through an endless soundtrack of evangelistic talk radio).
Stone is that rare film that refuses to be easy.
As in every good dialogue-driven film, talk equals action. The excitement here is sparked by the verbal and gestural give-and-take between the actors.
An ambiguous film boasting a quartet of mesmerizing performances...
The craftsmanship is impeccable as is the acting, but the storytelling is where the movie falls down. And with such a poorly realized narrative, it's hard to be enthusiastic about the many things Stone does right.
Hard to believe, but Edward Norton in cornrows is one of the less ludicrous things you'll see in this film.
Stone is a flawed film, largely because Lucetta is a B-movie seductress preying on believable human beings with backgrounds and complicated hearts.
A prisoner and parole officer grapple with sins and the need for redemption in this subtle drama of parallel lives.
It's got something to say. What that something is, though -- besides a four character study in spiritual decay -- is sort of up to you.
Stone is an unusual film which shifts uneasily between sleaze and philosophy, but it's distinguished at all times by three luminous performances.
Great performances from the cast in this engrossing drama.
This has to be one of the more, I think, underrated films of the past couple of years. The film is a prison drama centered around a parole officer nearing retirement who gets locked into a psychological duel with a convicted arsonist and the man's alluring wife-both of whom will do what it takes to convince the officer to help make early release possible. The film is all about control, manipulation, psychological games, and the motifs of religious belief, guilt, and temptation. Much of it is quite well done, but the rest is a little iffy, and could have been handled better, particularly how the narrative is executed. I do like the performances though, because those are definitely the highlight. Robert De Niro and Edward Norton reteam for the first time since The Score, and they are very impressive to watch, mostly because they are both acting somewhat against type. The really impressive person here though, is Milla Jovovich. She gives a very compelling and convincing performance without ever getting to over the top. It's a real treat to see her in action. Give this one a chance. It's flawed, but decent and compelling enough to warrant a viewing.
Super Reviewer
Yet again Norton out-acts De Niro in a film where the acting is more superior than the story line. It does have it's moments, but also toward the end, it does drag and there is hope for excitement which does not deliver, it's a straight forward story with no hidden surprises, but enjoyable performances.
A film that just didn't go anywhere or do anything for me. Sad to see Robert De Niro star in such a terrible film. Glad I didn't pay movie ticket prices. Left a lot to be desired. 2 1/2 stars.
It was a good movie. The main 3 characters does a good job...And it's a little interesting...but not much. It was...I don't know...It was good but nothing more.
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