Charismatic Daniel Craig plays Joe Scott, a washed up movie star, addicted to a misspent life of sex, drugs and uncool behaviour
Comment
03/21/09
Flashbacks of a Fool (2008)
38
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:21
Fresh:8
Rotten:13
Average Rating:4.5/10
Consensus: Despite Daniel Craig's earnest efforts, Flashbacks of a Fool suffers from an ambitious but underdeveloped script.
Synopsis: Daniel Craig (CASINO ROYALE) plays a stagnating Hollywood actor, Joe Scott, who's awoken from his stupor when he receives word of his childhood friend's death. Scott is soon bombarbed with memories... [More]
Starring: Daniel Craig, Harry Eden, Olivia Williams, Mark Strong
Director: Baillie Walsh
Reviews for Flashbacks of a Fool
Top Critic... an uninspired rearrangement of familiar elements, with little emotional force to justify the entire project.
11/12/08
Craig does a hopelessly dissipated futuristic Bondish has-been celeb party animal, undone by an overload of hard drugs and sex orgies in a flash forward culture clash of Hollywood excess and soapy UK downhome family values.
11/09/08
Flashbacks flounders in the final third.
10/18/08
Whiile pic doesn’t exactly feel like a vanity project, its weak script might have kept it forever in development hell if debutant writer-helmer Baillie Walsh weren’t the topliner’s good buddy.
10/18/08
Top CriticImpressively directed and superbly acted by a terrific cast, this is both a nostalgia-fuelled coming-of-age tale and a genuinely moving drama about making peace with the past.
10/18/08
The bizarre secret isn't nearly interesting enough to justify the long buildup to it, and since it amounts to bad luck it doesn't really reveal anything about the actor, anyway.
10/17/08
Without Daniel Craig's 007-enhanced profile, it's unlikely that Flashbacks of a Fool would have appeared anywhere except the Netflix queues of his most rabid fans.
10/17/08
Top CriticCraig’s shaken-but-not-stirred charisma makes the most of an underwritten part, but the movie nearly flat-lines when the actor’s not onscreen, which is often.
10/16/08
While the dialogue is often hackneyed and full of rushed backstory (not enough flashbacks, evidently), the cinematography excels, particularly the chiaroscuro interiors.
10/15/08
Fatally, Craig's self-obsessed Joe never develops into anyone more interesting.
04/18/08
It's like an awkward (and how could it not be awkward?) marriage of The Cement Garden and Beaches; an intriguing bit of driftwood, an exotic wreck.
04/18/08
Top CriticIt’s a handsome picture but Joe’s lack of evolution is unsatisfying.
04/18/08
Top CriticA two-hour whining session in which Daniel Craig plays fading actor Joe Scott.
04/18/08
An uneven drama that uneasily mixes Hollywood satire and coming-of-age tale, Flashbacks Of A Fool is hampered by its adventurous attempt to link the two. Much like its central character, Walsh's film is stylish but empty.
04/18/08
It’s a fool’s paradise for Craig as his fading filmstar looks back on how teenage hormones lead to tragedy. Walsh doesn’t fritter away Daniel’s magnanimity, but the lurch between Hollywood washout and ramshackle English adolescence needs more to bond.
04/18/08
Despite the skilful and evocative photography, the strong cast seem to misfire against the imbalanced structure and clashing styles.
04/18/08
When the record stops spinning Flashbacks Of A Fool doesn’t amount to much more than “learn from past mistakes and don’t take your life for granted”, but it’s strikingly shot, perfectly played, and rather well scored.
04/18/08
An ambitious but disappointing, regret-filled psycho-drama.
04/18/08
An array of small successes can’t support the crushing weight of the malformed screenplay. Not a complete loss by any means, though, and Walsh is a talent to keep an eye on.
04/18/08
Top CriticLatest News for Flashbacks of a Fool
November 09, 2008:
Craig does a hopelessly dissipated futuristic Bondish has-been celeb party animal, undone by an overload of hard drugs and sex orgies in a flash forward culture clash of Hollywood excess and soapy UK downhome family values. 
More...
October 20, 2008:
Trailer & Poster review
More...
April 23, 2008:
UK Box Office Breakdown: Craig's Fool Has Disasterous Opening
Daniel Craig's new film - Flashbacks of a Fool - suffers a disastrous opening weekend, coming in at only 11th in the charts. Fool's Gold and Happy Go Lucky are the big successes More...
April 18, 2008:
RT Interview: Director Baillie Walsh on Ziggy, Roxy and Daniel Craig in Flashbacks of a Fool
The first-time helmer sits down with RT to talk about making the transition to feature films with longtime friend Daniel Craig. More...
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