Hideous Kinky 1998

Janet Maslin, New York Times: Ms. Winslet movingly captures Julia in all her obliviousness and optimism, then watches how she awakens in ways she least expected. Read more

Lisa Alspector, Chicago Reader: The fusion of dream sequences and evocative landscapes makes the characters' feverish sense of living at the edge of reality contagious. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: Kate Winslet, luscious in a brilliantly colored caftan and flushed from the heat of an African sun, makes a beautiful hippie, circa 1972, in Hideous Kinky. Read more

Globe and Mail: Read more

Peter Rainer, New York Magazine/Vulture: It augurs well for the long-term integrity of her career that Winslet in this movie doesn't try to ingratiate herself with the audience. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: While there are all the usual misadventures and colorful characters, the mother/daughter and sister/sister bonds form the gel that holds everything together and gives Hideous Kinky a unique identity. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: The movie's tension comes from our own uneasiness about the mother, who with the best intentions seems to be blundering into trouble. Read more

Charles Taylor, Salon.com: Winslet suffers from the movie's inability to give a fuller picture of Julia, and in some ways she just seems too grounded, too sensible to carry off the character's flightiness. Read more

Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle: Screenwriter Billy MacKinnon had to have struggled to write convincing dialogue about searching for spiritual enlightenment. Much of what comes out of Julia's mouth sounds like babble. Read more

Geoff Andrew, Time Out: MacKinnon draws terrific performances from all involved (Winslet bravely refusing to court our sympathies), lets character, mood and meaning take precedence over story, and assembles a great music track as a bonus. Spot on. Read more

Lisa Nesselson, Variety: Kate Winslet continues an uninterrupted line of fine performances with the modest yet affecting Hideous Kinky. Read more

J. Hoberman, Village Voice: Thanks in part to Kate Winslet's adventurous performance, it's a more vivid and even affecting movie than it deserves to be. Read more