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Movies / Upcoming / All the Little Animals
All the Little Animals

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All the Little Animals (1999)

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62 %
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Reviews Counted:21

Fresh:13

Rotten:8

Average Rating:5.4/10

Runtime: 1 hr 54 mins

Genre: Dramas

US Box Office: $0

Synopsis: The tale of a mentally challenged young man named Bobby (Christian Bale), who runs away from home to escape an abusive stepfather (Daniel Benzali) who has been tormenting and slaughtering his... The tale of a mentally challenged young man named Bobby (Christian Bale), who runs away from home to escape an abusive stepfather (Daniel Benzali) who has been tormenting and slaughtering his beloved pets. In his travels, Bobby meets an old man (John Hurt) who spends his days protecting animals form speeding vehicles along the highway, and giving a proper burial to the unfortunate roadkill. Inevitably, the two become friends, but soon enough Bobby's hateful stepfather tracks him down, and the confrontation is one neither of them will ever forget. Based on the novel by Walker Hamilton. [More]

Starring: Christian Bale, John Hurt, Daniel Benzali, James Faulkner

Starring: Christian Bale, John Hurt, Daniel Benzali, James Faulkner

Director: Jeremy Thomas

Director: Jeremy Thomas
Screenwriter: Eski Thomas

[See More Credits]

Reviews for All the Little Animals

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
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Based on a 1969 novel by the late Walker Hamilton, this moody film is ravishingly beautiful to look at and refreshingly unlike the glib, movie-centric crime thrillers so popular with younger first-time directors.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
05/17/09
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Given his uncompromising work with the likes of Roeg, Bertolucci and Cronenberg, Thomas' directorial debut is surprisingly bland.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/17/09
Channel 4 Film

Bale nimbly walks a fine line between Bobby's handicap and an increasingly mature comprehension of what he must do to survive.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
09/09/08
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
08/15/07
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

A brave effort, certainly different, but all too emphatically an allegory.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out

Christian Bale is utterly sympathetic and engaging as Bobby. He convincingly communicates both the simplicity and chaos of his character's personality and gives the film a strong emotional core.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Ilana Lindsey
Ilana Lindsey
Film Threat

No review available.

comment Comment
08/20/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Odd and banal.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
07/21/05
Jeff Millar
Jeff Millar
Houston Chronicle

Click to read the article.

Full Review Source: StaciWilson.com | comment Comment
12/31/04
Staci Layne Wilson
Staci Layne Wilson
StaciWilson.com

No review available.

comment Comment
07/09/03
Michael Szymanski
Michael Szymanski
Zap2it.com

No review available.

comment Comment
07/26/02
David Poland
David Poland
Hot Button

It moves from a Cinderella fairytale with Rain Man pathos to the good-versus-evil realm of daytime soap operas (minus the sexual content).

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
06/05/02
Susan Green
Susan Green
Boxoffice Magazine

The ingredients all seem to be there for a rich, emotionally engrossing movie experience, but the storytelling flair and directorial touch are not.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
04/03/02
William Arnold
William Arnold
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Interesting despite its hipster crypticism and an imperfect finale. Is Christian Bale in every film Lions Gate has made?

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

A strangely intriguing, darkly made, psychological allegory based on the late Walker Hamilton's only novel.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

If you can allow for one irrational and unbelievable scene involving Bobby and Summers' trip to London, you're left with a decent, small- scale movie, perhaps more suitable for video than the large screen.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
01/01/00
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve

The adoption of 19th-century-melodrama conventions seems motivated mainly by a desire to tap into the emotional intensity they offer. I was enthralled by these tactics, but some viewers might gag.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader

The screenplay is so lacking in narrative sensibilities, it's difficult to enumerate all its failings.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
01/01/00
Maria Garcia
Maria Garcia
Film Journal International

Quite the off-kilter, half-baked eco-sermon to begin with, Thomas's movie crumbles in its last quarter or so like a stack of supermarket cans.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
01/01/00
Michael Atkinson
Michael Atkinson
Village Voice

[It] refuses to reduce its story to simple terms, and the visible story seems like a manifestation of dark and secret undercurrents. Even the ending, which some will no doubt consider routine revenge, has a certain subterranean irony.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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