Provides a platform for Sean Connery to deliver a definitive, career-summation performance.
80
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
Manages to take the cerebral act of literary creation and make it exciting, sexy even.
75
Chicago TribuneMark Caro
Chicago TribuneMark Caro
It's rare to see a movie that takes such joy in the power of words, not to create lofty works of art but to effect the simple, necessary translation of what's in one's heart and mind.
75
Boston GlobeJay Carr
Boston GlobeJay Carr
A juicy and gratifying teacher movie (a genre to which I'm partial). The joy in performance shared by Connery and Brown is the big reason.
75
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
The movie is not without its pleasures. Chief among them is Sean Connery's robust performance.
75
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
If it were 10 minutes shorter, it would've been just the right length and almost wholly honest.
75
USA TodayMike Clark
USA TodayMike Clark
One can't underestimate the appeal of any movie constructed around Sean Connery's charm.
70
Film.comRobert Horton
Film.comRobert Horton
One of those hybrid projects: a major studio film, big star, homely storyline, but tempered by an indie director working in his own idiosyncratic style.
Well acted (notably by newcomer Brown), warm hearted and utterly predictable, this film is aimed squarely at everyone who loved "Good Will Hunting."
50
TimeRichard Schickel
TimeRichard Schickel
Something more surprising might have been made of this odd couple, but Van Sant, emptily employing the realist manner of his early films, is goodwill hunting in all the wrong places.