All the Little Animals (1999)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:21
Fresh:13
Rotten:8
Average Rating:5.4/10
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... [More]
Starring: Christian Bale, John Hurt, Daniel Benzali, James Faulkner
Director: Jeremy Thomas
Reviews for All the Little Animals
| Tomatometer | Critic | Review | Category |
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 2.5/4 |
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 |
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Given his uncompromising work with the likes of Roeg, Bertolucci and Cronenberg, Thomas' directorial debut is surprisingly bland. Full Review |
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Bale nimbly walks a fine line between Bobby's handicap and an increasingly mature comprehension of what he must do to survive. Full Review |
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4/5 |
No review available.
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A brave effort, certainly different, but all too emphatically an allegory. Full Review |
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3/5 |
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 |
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3/5 |
No review available.
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Odd and banal. Full Review |
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Click to read the article. Full Review |
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3/5 |
No review available.
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2/5 |
No review available.
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1.5/5 |
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 |
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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 |
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3.5/5 |
Interesting despite its hipster crypticism and an imperfect finale. Is Christian Bale in every film Lions Gate has made? Full Review |
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A- |
A strangely intriguing, darkly made, psychological allegory based on the late Walker Hamilton's only novel. Full Review |
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8/10 |
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 |
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3/5 |
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 |
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The screenplay is so lacking in narrative sensibilities, it's difficult to enumerate all its failings. Full Review |
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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 |
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3/4 |
[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 |
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