84
Metascore
24 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100VarietyRobert KoehlerVarietyRobert KoehlerA rock-ribbed sense of committed, personal cinema and a core belief in people being able to pull themselves out of misery supports Ballast, an extraordinary debut by editor-writer-director Lance Hammer.
- 91Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanThe final shot, of the three characters now united, may be the quietest affirmation of life I've ever seen in a movie, and one of the truest.
- 90Film ThreatFilm ThreatWhat they produced is something that is true not just to this place or to these people's lives, or to the lives of poor people or black people, but to the experience of being human.
- 90The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttWorking with non-pro actors, Hammer pulls authentic performances from the trio that are at times almost too painful to witness.
- 90The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisShot with a sure hand and a cast of unknowns, the film doesn't so much tell a story as develop a tone and root around a place that, despite the intimate camerawork, remains shrouded in ambiguity.
- 90Village VoiceVillage VoiceThe conflicts, truths, and, ultimately, grace and dignity that bind these three together are brought to authentic life, without Hollywood-style exaggeration, through the quiet little miracles of performance that Hammer coaxes from his non-actors, especially the heartrending Riggs.
- 80SalonAndrew O'HehirSalonAndrew O'HehirBallast is an audacious and ambiguous debut from a filmmaker whose motives and aims are not as transparent as they seem.
- 75New York PostLou LumenickNew York PostLou LumenickHammer, whose blunt name belies the movie's many subtle touches, has his own distinct style. He also has an enormous trust in the audience to sort out this wounded family's miseries without the assistance of narration or even a musical score.
- 75PremierePremiereThe result is an exhilarating narrative.
- 67The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayHammer has a nice eye, and his premise develops engagingly in the final half hour, as he raises provocative questions about whether one man can truly step in for another.