Cut Bank 2014

Kevin Lincoln, Grantland: While the scaffolding of the films feel half-finished, great actors can make material much worse than this still worth watching. And while that might sound like faint praise, it's better than no praise at all. Read more

Geoff Berkshire, Variety: It's difficult to discern if the missteps here were inherent in Roberto Patino's script (which made the 2009 Black List) or arise from less-than-ideal execution of the material. Read more

Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly: Shakman is clearly going for a dark and bloody Fargo-style crime thriller, but the biggest crime in the film is just how derivative it all feels. Read more

Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: Clever enough to provoke a few abrupt laughs along the way, this big screen debut for two television stalwarts... is sabotaged by some frightfully on-the-nose expository dialogue and an adamantly prosaic visual style. Read more

Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: Patino's flights of high-flown language are both tasty and distracting; Dern, in ultra-crusty mode, makes the most of a crucial tirade. If only anything felt at stake in this story's dark spiral. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: The central problem with "Cut Bank" is a screenplay by Roberto Patino that never achieves comic liftoff despite an abundance of facetious humor. Read more

G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle: Like many of its brethren, the movie seems to love itself while hating its characters. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: In this sort of film, plenty of characters hope to get out of their small-time town, while viewers hope to get out of the theater. Read more

Geoff Pevere, Globe and Mail: Quite apart from the equally apparent lack of the Coens's extraordinary visual acuity, Cut Bank comes up short because it simply presumes that guilt and evil already live in town, just waiting for us to arrive and see the show. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Deficient in charisma, Hemsworth lacks both the grit and grin that his complicated role demands. Read more

Serena Donadoni, Village Voice: Without his usual tics, Malkovich is a wonder, quietly transforming an unassuming town fixture into Cut Bank's conscience. Read more