Look Both Ways 2005

Jessica Reaves, Chicago Tribune: ... a surprisingly (and inexplicably) uplifting meditation on the myriad ways life makes us all acutely miserable. Read more

Andrew Sarris, New York Observer: It is a marvelously promising first film, and Australia continues to amaze us with its steady procession of deliciously appealing young actresses. What is going on in that outback anyhow? Read more

Tom Keogh, Seattle Times: How each person copes with trauma and renewal adds up to a tender tale rich in memorable performances. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: The film itself is beautifully done. Read more

Noel Murray, AV Club: After the first hour, it's clear the movie isn't going to offer any surprising new insights into messed-up modernity. Read more

Janice Page, Boston Globe: A black-humored screenplay, realistic performances, eye-catching artwork, and a few creative turns on some well-worn themes. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: ... a fearless movie about a fearful subject, an unusually empathetic and quite funny film that deals with death and dying in the most offbeat and casually life-affirming way. Read more

Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle: The bottom line is that none of this goes anywhere beyond a droning funeral procession. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: The best parts of the movie are its occasional animated sequences. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: Forging her own new path, animator Sarah Watt makes a delicate, empathetic live-action directorial feature debut. Read more

Dallas Morning News: Read more

Mark Olsen, L.A. Weekly: Watt seems to want to say something about the role of fate and happenstance in creating connections between people, but she never quite brings the strands of her ideas together. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: The much-honored Australian dramedy Look Both Ways may be the type of film that provides a purifying rain just when its beleaguered characters need it. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: ... deliriously inventive ... Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: It's not a perfect movie. But it's definitely not a filmed play. Read more

Jami Bernard, New York Daily News: A pleasantly peculiar ensemble movie about melancholic people coping with random tragedy. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: I watched the movie in a kind of fascination. It is poetic and unforgiving, romantic and stark. Read more

G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle: Filled with aloof and confused characters just treading water, and even if they are likable, it eventually becomes tiresome. It's like one big pity party. Read more

Dave Calhoun, Time Out: While [director Sarah] Watt begins to offer an interesting study in paranoia, tinged with some good comic moments, her multi-stranded plot and last-minute recourse to romance ultimately lost the interest of this viewer. Read more

Richard Kuipers, Variety: An imaginative, humorous and truthful contemplation of human reaction to the inexplicable. Read more

Michael Atkinson, Village Voice: An unassuming, unadventurous, but likable dramedy about dying and grief. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: Though Watt's emphasis on coincidence and fate seems strained at times, Look Both Ways is rich in dreamy summer atmosphere and deadpan wit. Read more