70
Metascore
14 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThe movie belongs to Finney, but mention must be made of Jacqueline Bisset as his wife and Anthony Andrews as his half-brother. Their treatment of the consul is interesting. They understand him well.
- 91The A.V. ClubNathan RabinThe A.V. ClubNathan RabinIt falls upon Finney to dramatize the inner workings of a man gradually, unmistakably succumbing to oblivion. Finney is up to the task: The pungent poetry of Lowry's prose comes through in his pitch-perfect performance, with its exquisite turns of phrase, boozy bravado, and theatrical panache.
- 91Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittChristian Science MonitorDavid SterrittAlthough flawed by incoherence at moments, their version is a model of literary adaptation - intensely dramatic, sharply cinematic, and full of passionate performances. In all, it's quite a turnaround from Huston's last book-inspired effort, the misfired adaptation of Flannery O'Connor's amazing ''Wise Blood." [5 July 1984, p.25]
- 90The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinA film that is especially impressive for the courage, intelligence and restraint with which it tackles an impossible task...What it can do, and does to such a surprising degree, is to bring the characters to life and offer fleeting glimpses into the heart of Mr. Lowry's tragedy.
- 90NewsweekJack KrollNewsweekJack KrollFinney is remarkable. He plays Geoffrey like a ham actor, but a perpetual drunk is a ham actor: histrionics is the pathology of his sloshed behavior. Finney's body totters with the dignity of a wounded eagle. His face is a landscape racked by seismic tremors. He creates the fearsome effigy of a good man drowning in his own polluted goodness. [18 June 1984, p.92]
- 88The Associated PressBob ThomasThe Associated PressBob ThomasIt contains three superlative performances and ranks among the best work by John Huston. [10 July 1984]
- 75TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineThe result is very much worth the wait, bringing to life the mysticism of Mexico with a superb script by Guy Gallo, exquisite photography, and the unparalleled performance by Finney.
- 70Time OutTime OutNot for the purists, maybe, but the last half-hour, as Firmin plunges ever deeper into his self-created hell, leaves one shell-shocked.
- 50Chicago ReaderDave KehrChicago ReaderDave KehrHuston simply films the plot of Malcolm Lowry's modern-day gothic novel, turning a fevered interior vision into a cold, distant, exterior one—a documentary on the death of a drunk. As the tortured consul, Albert Finney has moments of technical brilliance, but Huston's direction gives him no inner life. The most impressive artistic contribution is that of cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa, whose painfully sharp images suggest something of what the novel is about.