Is There Anybody There? 2009

Ben Lyons, At the Movies: Caine is flawless here, giving audiences one of his finest performances to date. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: What balances the movie is Mr. Caine's exceptional portrayal of old age as the accumulation of a lifetime's experience. In his performance the child, the youthful rogue and the forgetful codger all live at once. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: [A] funny and moving drama about the mysteries of the grave. Read more

John Hartl, Seattle Times: Despite all the rough edges and predictable touches, the film becomes quite moving in its final act. Read more

Tasha Robinson, AV Club: The script is always shakier than the performers trying to bring it across, and by the third act, it lets them down completely. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: To answer the question put forth by the title of Is Anybody There?: Michael Caine is there, single-handedly lifting a soggy bit of coming-of-age whimsy into the category of the watchable. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: It is Caine's seemingly effortless mastery, after a lifetime of acting, that is the real attraction here. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: The result is a film that's funny, sad and oddly brave. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: A finely drawn and gentle British drama propelled by another of the star's unforgettable screen portraits. Read more

Connie Ogle, Miami Herald: You don't need a Ouija board to suss out where all this is heading, but Is Anybody There? counteracts its deficiencies -- predictability, sentimentality -- with a healthy dose of dark humor. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Caine is still obviously capable of pulling a great performance out of a middling film. Read more

Bob Mondello, NPR: At once predictable and implausible; so overplotted and overpopulated that the question isn't so much Is Anybody There? as "Why on earth are so many bodies here?" Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: While Caine is highly watchable, Is Anybody There? limns all-too-familiar and schmaltzy territory for both coming-of-age films and movies with elderly actors. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: At the risk of sounding churlish, I have to admit the alleged charm of this comic misadventure eluded me totally. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: Occasionally wistful, often melancholy but always charming. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Caine moves through the less-than-surprising story line, shaking things up not with an actorly flamboyance but with a heartbreaking sense of quiet tragedy and regret. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: I can't really recommend the film, unless you admire Caine as much as I do. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Blending humor and heartbreak in a performance that makes a small movie a richly satisfying one, Caine truly is magic. Read more

Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle: Is Anybody There?, about an aging magician's friendship with a morose boy, requires us to repress any thoughts about stale material and keep Caine's heartfelt performance front and center. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: The story flirts with sticky sentimentality but never quite falls into the trap, thanks to Caine's masterful presence. Read more

Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Working from a screenplay by Peter Harness, director John Crowley elicits strong performances and conjures a realistic atmosphere. But the story is predictable. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: The bravura acting is unsupported by a script that's content to settle for the dramatic equivalent of English comfort food, with moments of pathos and whimsy doled out like spoonfuls of dough and treacle. Read more

Bruce Demara, Toronto Star: There's a touch of magic at play here but it is of the understated variety, delivering a finale that is unexpectedly hopeful, moving and emotionally satisfying. Read more

David Fear, Time Out: Read more

Dave Calhoun, Time Out: The tender rapport between this film's two leads, 76-year-old Michael Caine and 14-year-old Bill Milner, is reason enough to see this sweet-natured British indie that explores the not-very-sexy topics of death and ageing. Read more

Rob Nelson, Variety: Profoundly (and some would say pleasurably) formulaic, the film possesses scant cinematic energy, relying wholly on the familiar transformation of a grumpy old man into an infectiously weepy humanist. Read more

Nicolas Rapold, Village Voice: Even Crowley, who seems to have a knack with overloaded material, can't quite bring the thing in for a safe landing in all the slush. Read more

Philip Kennicott, Washington Post: Caine is magnificent, and the film is worth a look for his contribution alone. Read more