Critic Reviews

• Michael Wilmington, Los Angeles Times

  There's a decency about this movie that's almost palpable. It's not trying to pump us up with false jingoism or the sins of the past. Jewison, a Canadian, probably approaches the entire subject with a mediatory mood.

• Desmond Ryan, Philadelphia Inquirer

  In essence, In Country is a well-turned variation on the quest to find a father that shows up in the folk tales of almost any culture.

• Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel

  The scene at the memorial is one of the film's best, but director Jewison fails to find in it anything close to the level of emotional force that the same scene in Mason's book has.

• Dave Kehr, Chicago Tribune

  This is no tribute to the war dead, but an unthinking betrayal of them -- they've been drafted again, this time to supply a climax to a second-rate tearjerker.

• , TIME Magazine

  Sounds like your basic TV movie, sunk by noble intentions. But here well meaning translates into well done.

• Variety Staff, Variety

  Norman Jewison usually is a commanding storyteller, but In Country is a film with two stories that fail to add up to something greater.

• Gary Thompson, Philadelphia Daily News

  Jewison manipulates the audience's familiarity with this national monument to achieve the kind of dramatic pitch that the characters themselves could not attain.

• David Sterritt, Christian Science Monitor

  Unfortunately, the last half-hour slides into the weepiest sort of sentimentality.

• , TV Guide's Movie Guide

  Lloyd, though technically adept, doesn't really get under her conflicted character's skin; the supporting actors (including Willis) are the film's greatest strength.

• Carol Cling, Las Vegas Review-Journal

  Gripping performances save this post-Vietnam drama

• Chuck O'Leary, Fantastica Daily

  A profoundly moving tearjerker about the festering wounds caused by the Vietnam War in middle America. A young Emily Lloyd is absolutely wonderful.

• Lori Hoffman, Atlantic City Weekly

  Willis is brilliant as a 'Nam veteran

• Bob Bloom, Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

  An overlooked and underrated drama with Willis giving one of his finest performances.

• Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice

  A powerful drama about one American family's attempt to release the grief and pain caused by the Vietnam war

• , Film4

  Jewison manages to save up all the emotion for the charged conclusion at the Vietnam memorial in Washington, but it's a case of too little, too late.

• Willie Waffle, rec.arts.movies.reviews

  It is refreshing to see the bluster Willis shows as a leading man disappear when he takes smaller challenging roles such as this. Someday, a role like this could lead to more recognition of his immense acting ability.

Read all 16 critic reviews