In adapting Jennifer Egan's first novel, writer-turned-director Adam Brooks has mined just about every sixties cliché imaginable.
Comment
02/02/01
The Invisible Circus (2001)
22
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:60
Fresh:13
Rotten:47
Average Rating:4.1/10
Consensus: Despite Jordana Brewster's strong performance, The Invisible Circus lacks the necessary dramatic tension to be interesting. Also, the cultural and political contexts of the period are barely explored.
Synopsis: In THE INVISIBLE CIRCUS, sixties idealism meets headlong with family conflict and, mysteriously, death. This compelling drama, based on Jennifer Egan's novel, begins in the infamous Summer of '69,... [More]
Starring: Jordana Brewster, Christopher Eccleston, Cameron Diaz, Patrick Bergin
Director: Adam Brooks
Reviews for The Invisible Circus
A weak coming-of-age story, an unintriguing mystery, a flaccid romance, and period piece that barely evokes its period.
02/02/01
One more failed attempt to make a definitive statement about that indefinable revolution-in-consciousness that was the 1960s.
02/02/01
Flimsy and uninvolving.
02/02/01
Movie hits one note and holds it for 90-odd minutes.
02/02/01
The Invisible Circus ... doesn't so much illuminate Phoebe's confusion as share it.
02/02/01
Top CriticAnother murky film about the 1970s that's watchable mostly for its cast rather than the story.
02/02/01
You should pay nine bucks to see this if: you're a hard-core Cameron Diaz fan.
02/02/01
This sort of material probably would fare better in the hands of an inexperienced novelist -- who has more of an opportunity to explore inner states -- than an inexperienced filmmaker.
02/02/01
This cinematic big top is worth the price of admission.
02/02/01
Top CriticThe Invisible Circus remains true to its title, difficult to see the point of or enjoy.
02/02/01
Alluring, but ultimately insubstantial.
02/02/01
When flashbacks tease us with bits of information, it has to be done well, or we feel toyed with. Here the mystery is solved by stomping in thick-soled narrative boots through the squishy marsh of contrivance.
02/02/01
Top CriticA fatally insubstantial film.
02/02/01
Movies that attempt to resurrect the spirit of the 1960s and explain 'what went wrong,' almost always implode from the weight of their own pretensions.
02/01/01
Mostly through Brewster's central, focusing performance, it brings back the time of youth gone mad with possibility.
02/01/01
It's Diaz's movie as she tramps in and out of various flashbacks. She really sparkles.
02/01/01
It's a dull, dim flick.
02/01/01
Everything must pass through the filter of Phoebe, who is basically inexpressive and unlikable.
02/01/01
The low energy level ... keeps The Invisible Circus from fulfilling the potential of its interesting characters and theme.
02/01/01
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