Lebanon, Pa. (2011)

Critic Reviews

• Mark Jenkins, Washington Post

  Since the crux of the tale is a teenager's decision about an unwanted pregnancy, "Lebanon, Pa." can't possibly please everyone. But Hickernell doesn't strain to be provocative.

• Rex Reed, New York Observer

  Not perfect, but vastly superior to most of the Hollywood dreck we've been getting lately, Lebanon, Pa. is a thoughtful and perceptive film well worth recommending.

• Ronnie Scheib, Variety

  As long as the pic remains rooted in a specific locale's rhythms, it imparts a sense of discovery; but when local color wears thin, bald ideological small-town/big-city oppositions intrude.

• Kyle Smith, New York Post

  Plays out like one of those dull message movies that TV networks used to crank out almost weekly, but the earnestness is at times almost appealingly old-fashioned.

• Stephen Holden, New York Times

  Kitson, who plays CJ, the mouthy, forthright teenager at the center of the storm, illuminates a movie that is otherwise so studiously balanced an examination of teenage pregnancy that it deserves a medal for evenhandedness.

• Andrew Schenker, Village Voice

  Lebanon, Pa. begins as a tale about male, middle-aged self-discovery, but soon becomes something quite different: a clear-eyed if crassly manipulative take on the culture wars.

• Tricia Olszewski, Washington City Paper

  Starts off like a self-serious Garden State and ends up like a self-serious Juno.

• Eugene Novikov, Cinematical

  An intriguing, beautiful film by a promising young director.

• Diego Costa, Slant Magazine

  This is a plea for self-described indie filmmakers to stop utilizing hyper-polished technique to talk about human misery.

• Alison Willmore, AV Club

  Displays the delicate touch of a sledgehammer on an old sidewalk.

• Gary Thompson, Philadelphia Daily News

  For the most part it's your classic character-driven movie - the antithesis of an "issue" drama - until a contentious issue surfaces that threatens to overwhelm the story.

• Eric Hynes, Time Out New York

  The real casualties are momentum and narrative cohesion.

• Mark Bell, Film Threat

  Lebanon, PA is a beautiful film with powerful characters and a story you can really connect with in a way that won't make you feel gross or manipulated.

• Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice

  A transitional time in the life of a 35-year-old ad agency executive when he has a chance to take a hard look at his life.

Read all 14 critic reviews