God's Pocket 2014

Keith Staskiewicz, Entertainment Weekly: [Philip Seymour Hoffman,] John Turturro, Richard Jenkins, and Christina Hendricks round out a formidable cast that isn't given much to work with. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: Neither over-sentimentalizing nor condescending toward the working-class people in the film, Slattery sees the humanity in his self-defeating and ignorant characters. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: There's nothing remarkable or even remotely intriguing about the dyspeptic gang of submental sad sacks in this dull, flat fiasco. Read more

Tom Keogh, Seattle Times: What's left is an awkward blend of tragedy and comedy, in a movie that doesn't feel as if it has earned the right to be either. Read more

Justin Chang, Variety: A strained pileup of small-town stupidity that might more honestly have been titled "Sad Sacks 'R' Us." Read more

Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, AV Club: John Slattery's feature-length directorial debut, God's Pocket, fits snugly within the tradition of the actors' picture, the granddaddy of today's big ensemble films. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Although it contains some interesting characters, "God's Pocket," like the neighborhood it depicts, is the kind of place you can't wait to escape, even if its inhabitants cannot. Read more

Tom Russo, Boston Globe: A fair amount of the film leaves you wondering about the categorizations it's courted as a dark comedy. If the tag legitimately applies, then it takes Slattery a while to find his footing, if he ever really does. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: A dud. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: Turns out accents and attitude only go so far. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: The script, written by director John Slattery and Alex Metcalf, drifts too quickly into blue-collar cliches, leaving its interesting collection of characters only half-drawn at best. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: In an attempt for restrained, matured respectability, the picture makes even murder seem dull. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: Though the neighborhood of God's Pocket is fictional, and never precisely located, Slattery's rendering of it is vivid and authentic. Read more

David Denby, New Yorker: Slattery goes for lower-depths naturalism, including extensive scenes in a neighborhood bar, and then tries, without sufficient brio, to transform the misery into black comedy. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Ultimately "God's Pocket" is a little too much, of everything. And yet not quite enough for Slattery, who deserves something more. Read more

Joel Arnold, NPR: It's always unfortunate to see potential wasted onscreen, in acting, writing, or directing. It's worse to see it happen all at once with artists universally known as capable of much more. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: Many pleasures in "God's Pocket" come from the interplay between characters too wise to tell the truth but too proud to shut their yaps. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: Neither a Scorsesian slice of life nor a social satire, this infuriating movie adds up to almost nothing. Read more

Michael Sragow, Orange County Register: God's Pocket, despite its tiptop cast, fails to sustain its comedy or drama. It becomes, at best, a piece of sardonic anthropology. Read more

Tirdad Derakhshani, Philadelphia Inquirer: A messy, shallow, muddled morass of a Philadelphia crime story set in 1978 ... Read more

Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com: John Slattery's direction is skilled and steady... Great actors at the top of their game working with rich material. Read more

Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle: Too many of the attempts at "The Sopranos"-style comic drama fail. Maybe the comedy beats are a little off. Or maybe these people are just too gloomy to generate much hilarity. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: This is Irish gallows humor at its darkest. If that's your cup of ink-black tea, as it is mine, it's a rare treat. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Who can quibble when the source material is a novel by Peter Dexter ("Paris Trout"), the debut director is John Slattery ("Mad Men") and the actors are such seasoned pros? Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: By the time the one-legged guy roots through a trashcan looking for deposit bottles, the film seems to be teetering into classist parody. Read more

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: You only wish debuting feature director John Slattery had brought some of the spark he's shown on Mad Men, even when deep in his cups. Read more

Michael Nordine, Village Voice: A bit of site-specific miserablism brought to life by an ensemble whose every actor ... is more interesting than the part he or she is playing. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: Slattery adapted the book with Alex Metcalf and gets the tone just right. The film is damnably amusing. Read more

Stephanie Merry, Washington Post: What began as an intriguing snapshot begins to feel grotesque and inscrutable. Read more