71
Metascore
32 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88New York Daily NewsJami BernardNew York Daily NewsJami BernardGiddily inventive.
- 80The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsThe A.V. ClubKeith PhippsTo concentrate on the minor faults of a fable as beautiful and unusual as Pleasantville would be missing the point.
- 75The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenDelightful as it often is, the picture suffers fom the same structural and thematic tidiness, even smugness, that it nominally opposes.
- 70L.A. WeeklyManohla DargisL.A. WeeklyManohla DargisThe results are charming if rarely thrilling, with outstanding performances from Joan Allen and William H. Macy.
- 70TimeRichard CorlissTimeRichard CorlissAn epic-size, largely entertaining parable of repression and awakening.
- 70Film.comRobert HortonFilm.comRobert HortonTerrific idea, brilliantly worked out on a technical level.
- 67Portland OregonianShawn LevyPortland OregonianShawn LevyMay not be as successful as it is ambitious, but you could do worse than to spend a few hours there.
- 60Village VoiceJ. HobermanVillage VoiceJ. HobermanFunny for about half an hour, Pleasantville thereafter becomes an increasingly lugubrious, ultimately exasperating mix of technological wonder and ideological idiocy.
- 50Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenAustin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenThe movie's simplistic storyline does not match its stunning visual accomplishments: Pleasantville's story is drawn from a palette that's strictly limited to black-and-white.
- 50USA TodayMike ClarkUSA TodayMike ClarkGlum and preachy.