McElhone and Bale are more overt, acting mostly with rigid faces, tousled hair and at least 64 shiny, well-displayed teeth.
Comment
06/06/03
Laurel Canyon (2003)
67
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:107
Fresh:72
Rotten:35
Average Rating:6.4/10
Consensus: Though the movie itself is flawed, McDormand is fantastic as Jane.
Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins
Genre: Dramas
US Box Office: $3,596,939
Synopsis: Laurel Canyon is a street that runs through the heart of the Hollywood Hills, joining the middle-class, stolid environs of the San Fernando Valley to the heart of the city of Los Angeles. The... [More]
Starring: Frances McDormand, Christian Bale, Kate Beckinsale, Natascha McElhone
Director: Lisa Cholodenko
Reviews for Laurel Canyon
From the choice of L.A.’s musical bohemia to finding the right tension in each scene, director Lisa Cholodenko has hit another home run.
06/04/03
With vocal inflections and a caring glance, McDormand rescues the mother-son dynamic that twists through Canyon like the famed Mulholland Drive.
05/28/03
Click to read the article
05/23/03
Interesting and distinctive but held back from greatness by forcing complex characters through tidy character arcs.
05/21/03
An enjoyable little film about fidelity and intimacy among different generations. Worth seeing just for McDormand's performance.
05/06/03
Laurel Canyon telegraphs far too much of its unoriginal story to genuinely hold our interest. We find ourselves wishing we could leave these characters nattering in the living room and wander around the house looking at the souvenirs and photographs. We’r
05/05/03
How far can you follow the psychosexual exploits of folks you aren't all that drawn to in the first place?
05/02/03
Cholodenko has made a huge mistake in casting Bale and Beckinsale as her leads. While their blandness seems to be appropriate for the characters they're played, neither is very interesting.
05/02/03
By the time Laurel Canyon closes, we’re left with a number of dangling subplots, lots of questions and two hideously unbelievable reconciliations.
05/02/03
Just when you thought the "La-La Land" cliche ... had been done to death, along comes the indie-film variation in Laurel Canyon.
05/02/03
It's a half-step backward for Cholodenko, whose latest film has none of the tenderness or fresh insight about relationships and sexual ambiguity of High Art.
05/01/03
It's nice, but truthfully it never pulled me in.
04/28/03
The movie's contrivances begin to rankle.
04/25/03
McDormand plays the exact opposite of her role in Almost Famous, and darned if she isn't just as terrific.
04/25/03
An immediate guilty pleasure.
04/25/03
It's an earnest, grown-up drama with some strong points, and it's extraordinarily well-acted.
04/25/03
McDormand's flawless performance is worth the price of admission.
04/25/03
McDormand steals every scene, seemingly without even trying.
04/25/03
Fizzles out in the third act, but we're long past caring. By then, Frances McDormand has usurped the movie and turned it into a lesson in character acting.
04/24/03
Latest News for Laurel Canyon
October 19, 2006:
Critical Consensus: "Flags" Flies High; "The Prestige" Is Magic; "Flicka" Is A Pretty Good Ride; "Marie Antoinette" Spared Critical Guillotine
This week at the movies, we've got a complex tale of heroism (Clint Eastwood's "Flags of Our Fathers," starring Ryan Phillippe), a story of dueling magicians... More...
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