We Go Way Back (2011)

43% of critics liked it
(7 reviews)
74% of users liked it
(1,325 ratings)

A hard-working young actress with a small theater company, Kate lands her first leading role on her 23rd birthday. When she reads a cheerfully inquisitive birthday letter from her 13-year-old self, it seems she might actually be fulfilling childhood aspirations. But the letter triggers mounting… More A hard-working young actress with a small theater company, Kate lands her first leading role on her 23rd birthday. When she reads a cheerfully inquisitive birthday letter from her 13-year-old self, it seems she might actually be fulfilling childhood aspirations. But the letter triggers mounting confusion for Kate, and her former self - in the form of a voice and the occasional fleeting vision - won't seem to go away. As Kate bends to the whims of those around her with dwindling resistance, the protests of her adolescent self grow more hauntingly intrusive until, in a surrealistic turn, 13-year-old Katie appears in the flesh, primed for a confrontation. Beautifully shot and poetically edited, this resonant film explores the comedy and pain of finding the courage to face up to yourself. --(c) Official Site

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 20 min.
Directed By: Lynn Shelton
Written By: Lynn Shelton
Genres: Drama, Comedy

In Theaters: Apr 29, 2011 Limited
Studio: Cyan Pictures

Critic Reviews

Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times
More successful at conjuring atmosphere than at plot, "We Go Way Back" is nicely acted but frustratingly slight.
Michael Atkinson, Village Voice
For all of the film's preciousness, the pungent notion of having your young-teen self gazing in horrified disappointment at the adult you've failed to become is as fresh a thematic undertow as it is disquieting.
Dennis Harvey, Variety
[A] diverting but ultimately weightless effort.
Chuck Bowen, Slant Magazine
We Go Way Back is another tale of a twentysomething struggling to get a grip on their life.
Marshall Fine, Hollywood & Fine
For the first half, you can kid yourself that these witty sidetrips are what the film is about. But then Shelton gets "serious," and it dissolves into arty murk.
John Hartl, Seattle Times
Depression is the subject of the locally produced We Go Way Back, yet the movie works best as a backstage comedy in the tradition of Waiting for Guffman.
Bill White, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
First time director Lynn Shelton breaks too many narrative laws for it to work as a feature.