Critic Reviews

• Tom Keogh, Seattle Times

  Virzi approaches mawkishness but he never crosses the line.

• Ty Burr, Boston Globe

  "The First Beautiful Thing'' is shameless, and, damn it, I cried anyway.

• Jay Weissberg, Variety

  Occasionally affecting but unremarkable.

• Natasha Senjanovic, Hollywood Reporter

  Virzi has hit his stride in this polished but delicate comedy-drama.

• Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News

  It's filled with its own artfulness and warmth.

• Ella Taylor, NPR

  Virsi sharpens the sentimentality of the emotional setup to a nicely serrated edge.

• Brent Simon, Shockya.com

  A warm and welcome foreign film treat about learning to cope with the fact that one's parents are actually people too.

• Stan Hall, Oregonian

  The high-pitched emotions, gesticulations and occasional near-hysteria seem completely normal and genuine.

• James Verniere, Boston Herald

  A lovely Italian throwback about a loner vocational school professor coming to terms with the death of his mother and the sources of his present-day unhappiness.

• Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)

  It's especially striking how effectively Ramazotti's and Sandrelli's performances as Anna blend together so smoothly. Together, they create a portrait of a woman who lacked all the necessary skills to be a parent, except to fiercely love her children.

• Gerald Peary, Boston Phoenix

  The film becomes wearisome due to Virzì's indulgent use of busy, overstated flashbacks.

• Diego Costa, Slant Magazine

  In films such as the Italian The First Beautiful Thing, the mother/whore dichotomy collapses in whimsical ways: The mother is the whore.

• Avi Offer, NYC Movie Guru

  A tender, captivating and well-acted drama abundant in humor and heart.

• Simon Miraudo, Quickflix

  Italians need not worry - when it comes to issues with their parents, the Greeks still hold the title for being the most messed up. I mean, did you hear about what happened to that Oedipus kid?

Read all 14 critic reviews