Critic Reviews

• Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com

  An offbeat, sometimes self-congratulatory road movie romance.

• Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor

  They embark on one of those maundering, life-lessony odysseys that filmmakers love but audiences rarely do.

• Kyle Smith, New York Post

  One of those many indies that exist to give actors a chance to go slumming.

• Jen Chaney, Washington Post

  Well-acted but ultimately unmemorable ...

• Stephen Holden, New York Times

  The film equivalent of a dysfunctional computer sloppily assembled from discarded parts of other machines.

• Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times

  The promise it begins with doesn't pay off. And while "Arthur Newman" is not a complete disaster, it does leave you wishing the romance and the ride had been a whole lot smoother.

• Louis Black, Austin Chronicle

  Arthur Newman is overwhelmed with arty ambitions and a heavy-handed acting style. Ultimately, all the weight prevents the film from taking off and soaring.

• Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)

  Obviously the theme of "Arthur Newman" is the American dream of starting over, but Johnston's screenplay hits it so obviously that it loses its resonance.

• Tony Medley, Tolucan Times

  A strange film about dysfunctional people directed with good pace by Dante Ariola in his feature film debut highlighted by fine performances by Colin Firth and Emily Blunt.

• Robin Clifford, Reeling Reviews

  Academy-award winner Colin Firth seems to be doing someone a favor by agreeing to play Walter Avery/Arthur Newman.

• Brian Orndorf, Blu-ray.com

  Ariola can't keep the proceedings moving forward, wallowing in the blue mood for far too long. It makes a decent movie with something to share about the exhaustion of defense mechanisms into a slog that leaves its actors high and dry.

• Christian Toto, Big Hollywood

  Firth and Blunt give life (and flawless American accents) to this restrained, and occasionally bland, road trip flick.

• Rick Bentley, Fresno Bee

  Firth's performance alone would have been enough to hail this film by director Dante Ariola. Toss in an equally powerful performance by Blunt, and the film turns to a masterwork of acting.

• S. Jhoanna Robledo, Common Sense Media

  Often-somber drama has language, sex, drinking.

• Robert Levin, amNewYork

  This is a decidedly minor effort, directed by Dante Ariola with a bland, generic eye, missing the pathos of interesting drama and the charm of quality romantic cinema.

• Josh Bell, Las Vegas Weekly

  A slow, lethargic journey to nowhere, full of pseudo-profound dialogue and generic indie-drama plotting.

• Mark Dujsik, Mark Reviews Movies

  If anything, Arthur Newman is a reminder that some lonely people are lonely for a good reason.

• William Bibbiani, CraveOnline

  Without a satisfying finale, Arthur Newman might come across as just an acting exercise. If so, it's still an impressive one.

Read all 18 critic reviews