Mutual Appreciation (2005)

Critic Reviews

• Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

  Alan, Lawrence and Ellie, intersecting here and there with a circle of acquaintances and strangers, insinuate themselves into the viewer's heart like good friends.

• Bill Stamets, Chicago Sun-Times

  Shooting in black-and-white 16mm, Bujalski nods to the pre-Sundance personal cinema of the '50s and '60s. His little circle of pals, though, offers little to outsiders looking in.

• Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune

  The film's mood and style are pitched somewhere between '60s American indie and French New Wave and, as you watch these people, they seem painfully, amusingly on-target.

• Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

  Mutual Appreciation appropriates a seemingly improvised vérité style that's ideal for a cast of characters of no tremendous ambition.

• Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

  The kind of movie whose dialogue mostly hews to the rhythms of 'like, you know, whatever' but then occasionally throws in a word such as 'puissance.' And, like, it totally works.

• Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter

  There is no denying the director-screenwriter's ability to capture a certain real-life quality on film.

• Derek Malcolm, This is London

  You'll either be bored or fascinated by the Cassavetes-like reality of it all.

• , Independent

  The grainy, black-and-white look and the characters' ethos dovetail perfectly.

• Tom Charity, Total Film

  The focus is narrow, but its scrutiny is absolutely unerring.

• Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph

  Every scene in Bujalski's films is a little awkward, and just right.

• Steve Rose, Guardian [UK]

  Bujalski perfectly skewers what you might call the "sort-of" generation: educated, mid-20s white Americans hemmed in by their own non-committal uncertainty.

• , Times [UK]

  The painful honesty and geeky cool draws you in, but the film's sweet-natured humour seals the deal.

• , Film4

  Indebted to the films of Jim Jarmusch and John Cassavetes, Bujalski invests this love triangle with real empathy for his bumbling, hyper-articulate characters, and a sly, edgy humour.

• Tom Dawson, BBC

  Bujalski is a shrewd comic observer, and astute enough a director to get the most of his engaging actors.

• Alan Morrison, Empire Magazine

  Just because you shoot semi-improvised scenes in black-and-white doesn't mean you're the new Jim Jarmusch.

• Ben Walters, Time Out

  Despite their lackadaisical impression, the pictures are quite tightly structured: each scene covers emotional and narrative distance. Funny, forgiving, credible and deft, they offer much to appreciate.

• Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central

  The dark side of a Waldorf education.

• Ted Fry, Seattle Times

  Just because it's like real life doesn't mean it's inherently interesting.

• Marc Mohan, Oregonian

  To capture the mundane rhythms of everyday existence without being tedious is a tough task, which makes the difficulties [director] Bujalski has had getting his films distributed a puzzling and frustrating thing.

• David Schmeichel, Jam! Movies

  Already an indie fan favourite thanks to the no-budget romp Funny Ha Ha, director Andrew Bujalski here slays the sophomore slump with another scruffy but bang-on look at life in the slow lane.

Read all 22 critic reviews