Talk to Me 2007

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: As Lemmons effortlessly makes her film both a colorful tour of the turbulent '60s and a delicately paced character study, the men emerge as two halves of a whole; often in disagreement, always brothers. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Blessedly free of the usual biopic freight and sanctimony, the exuberant new film Talk to Me has a great subject and a great actor working in tandem. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: I was bummed out by the movie's trite VH1 cartoon of the black power era -- especially coming from Kasi Lemmons, who made her directing debut with the hauntingly ambiguous Eve's Bayou. Read more

Joanne Kaufman, Wall Street Journal: Its dialogue, equal parts uptight honky and jumping jive seems, particularly in the early stretches, to have been generated by a computer. Read more

Keith Phipps, AV Club: It's an unfortunately neatly packaged tale about a man who, by all evidence, constantly and consciously resisted easy repackaging. Read more

Richard Nilsen, Arizona Republic: Don Cheadle has elevated yet another film: Talk to Me is better than it intends to be. But thank Ejiofor as well. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: Smart, conflicted, and immensely entertaining. Read more

Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times: As an intimate portrait of the complex, fruitful and extremely volatile friendship between trailblazing African American men whose daring came to redefine an industry, it's fresh and revelatory. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: Lemmons, her extraordinary cast and gifted crew deliver laughing, crying and plenty of signifying. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: A rowdy, richly offbeat biopic. Read more

Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press: He mood shifts awkwardly from broad comedy to melodrama and social commentary. Read more

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: Talk to Me is more than enough fun as a showcase for Mr. Cheadle's wit and spontaneity and as an inside look at the airwaves' transition from warm and fuzzy comforter to the anything-goes entertainment of today. Read more

Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly: Neither Lemmons nor screenwriters Michael Genet and Rick Famuyiwa, however, have much of a feel for character, let alone story. Read more

Bruce Newman, San Jose Mercury News: The movie's occasional narrative shortcomings are offset by the performances, which are uniformly fine. Read more

Jan Stuart, Newsday: Rescued from hagiography and cliche by tart writing and a spark-plug star performance from Don Cheadle. Read more

Bob Mondello, NPR.org: In its wrenching shift from farce to tragedy, and its evocation of the bridge offered by friendship, Talk to Me tells it, and keeps on tellin' it, much as 'Petey' Greene would have. Read more

Jack Mathews, New York Daily News: About halfway through the movie, it changes direction, becoming less a biographical drama about Petey than a maudlin buddy movie about his relationship with Dewey. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: The movie also presents '60s turbulence from a black point of view, which is not only bracing but also feels closer to the point of it all. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: Cheadle gives a performance of contained cool and bluff bravado, suggesting barely a hint of the rage you would expect from a man just out of a nine-year prison sentence. Read more

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: Don Cheadle -- explosive because you've never before seen this model of actorly restraint -- is a one-man fireworks show in Talk to Me, Kasi Lemmons' rollicking, resonant portrait of the real-life ex-con who improbably became a civic icon. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: The movie begins with a whirlpool of comedy and manic energy, and then grows, as it must, more serious and introspective. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com: ...a movie that perfectly captures the vibe of a person, a place, a time and a way of being, and even gets, indirectly and without a whiff of sanctimoniousness, to the heart of what being an American ought to mean. Read more

Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle: Watching it becomes an exercise in frustration when a potentially great movie winds up buried inside a just OK one. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: The problem is, the last section of the movie doesn't follow the career path of Greene: It traces the blander character of Hughes. Read more

Rob Salem, Toronto Star: The characters are brought to vivid life with remarkably compelling performances by two of the screen's most versatile actors: Don Cheadle as the freewheeling Greene; and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Hughes, the aggressively ambitious executive. Read more

Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine: A very honest yet curiously affecting experience. Read more

Cliff Doerksen, Time Out: Read more

Stephen Garrett, Time Out: The writing and direction pull their punches, opting for a 'be cool, ya(TM)all' ethos and the hazy glow of tribute instead of the messy reality that Greene himself reveled in lancing. Read more

Jonathan Crocker, Time Out: Thanks to its two leads, the film remains vivid, honest and deeply felt. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Speaks powerfully to audiences with its potent blend of extraordinary performances and engaging soundtrack. Read more

Robert Koehler, Variety: Alternates too deliberately between jaunty comedy and serious message-making. Read more

Nathan Lee, Village Voice: Talk To Me lacks every kind of specificity (historical, psychological, socio-cultural) but redeems itself through the dedication of its Cheadlicious lead. Read more

Stephen Hunter, Washington Post: It makes you feel not only the joy people experienced in the wash of Greene's raucous, truth-saying humor, but also his wisdom and calm. Read more