Constellation (2005)

0% of critics liked it
(20 reviews)
46% of users liked it
(2,093 ratings)

An estranged African-American family from the deep South is forced to confront their painful past when as they come together to celebrate the life and legacy of the woman whose death served as the catalyst for renewed family bonds in this redemptive family drama starring Hill Harper, Billy Dee… More An estranged African-American family from the deep South is forced to confront their painful past when as they come together to celebrate the life and legacy of the woman whose death served as the catalyst for renewed family bonds in this redemptive family drama starring Hill Harper, Billy Dee Williams, and Lesley Ann Warren. Carmel Boxer (Gabrielle Union) has passed away, and her entire family has returned to Huntsville, Alabama to pay their final respects. Coming together isn't easy for the Boxer family though, and for family patriarch Helms (Williams) in particular, the painful memories of an unrequited interracial love affair are something that he would rather just forget. As the revelations about Carmel's past prompt each family member to take stock of their pent up emotions and reevaluate their feelings about one another, the changing racial fabric of both society and his family prompts the troubled Helms to confront the inner demons that have tormented him for decades. In the end it's the redemptive power of love and the honesty of family that will help to inspire healing in a group whose hearts had been held hostage to their turbulent history for far too long. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 45 min.
Directed By: Jordan Walker-Pearlman
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Feb 16, 2005 Wide
On DVD: May 22, 2007
Studio: Freestyle Releasing

Critic Reviews

Scott Brown, Entertainment Weekly
Neither the camera nor the script can focus.
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger
There are too many characters too sketchily defined, and some of the relationships are pure contrivances.
Kyle Smith, New York Post
Scenes in which little or nothing happens pass by slowly, and the only point of suspense is whether the number of tearful hugs at the end will reach double digits.
Matt Zoller Seitz, New York Times
If earnestness equaled skill, Constellation would be a classic.
Kevin Crust, Los Angeles Times
Featuring a stalwart cast (many of whom appeared in Walker-Pearlman's 2000 drama, The Visit) and some delicately wrought moments, the film is unable to overcome its soap opera scenario and clunky pacing.
Desson Thomson, Washington Post
Although the performers -- including Lesley Ann Warren, David Clennon and Rae Dawn Chong -- are pleasing to watch with their semi-improvised encounters, their scenes don't add up to the accumulative glow the filmmaker had in mind.
Kam Williams, NewsBlaze
This rudderless production lacks the coherence to be considered a finished feature film.
Melissa Anderson, Time Out New York
The flashbacks are almost as smoothly subtle as the title of one of the paintings showcased by Billy Dee Williams's character: Portrait of a Journey.
Kam Williams, EURWeb
This overplotted, emotional dump plods along as if the characters are stuck in the cinematic equivalent of quicksand, never generating any traction because no matter how much everybody vents, nothing of consequence ever transpires.
Frank Lovece, Film Journal International
I'm nodding off just thinking about the long, static close-ups and endless scenes of people walking and sitting and doing nothing.
Andy Klein, Los Angeles CityBeat
... the biggest problem is that the insights ... are strictly Hallmark TV movie stuff, an association reinforced by the mawkish visual style and score.
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
The stage is set for emotional pyrotechnics that never quite materialize, because for all their squabbles, grudges and grievances, they all basically love each other.
Bob Strauss, Los Angeles Daily News
A movie whose abundant smarts are fatally compromised by its writer-director Jordan Walker-Pearlman's rudimentary filmmaking skills.
Tim Cogshell, Boxoffice Magazine
Loosely edited scenes juxtaposed in the most vexing ways and completely disparate motifs blurs Constellation into an image that the Hubble Space Telescope could not sharpen.
Scott Foundas, L.A. Weekly
Constellation positions itself as a sweeping, multigenerational tearjerker in the style of The Notebook, complete with endless shots of two characters staring meaningfully at one another while gloppy music wells on the soundtrack.
Harvey S. Karten, Compuserve
Lacks focus with its plethora of family entanglements.
Eric Lurio, Greenwich Village Gazette
There are no revelations here, no real reconciliations, as nobody really hates each other.