60
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertFor me, Richard Jenkins is the heart of Norman. How often I've admired him; even in unworthy roles, he has such strength, he never seems the need to try.
- The film built around Norman's brazen bit of acting out is uneven -- a strong, fresh first half is followed by a dismayingly earnest second. But there's enough that is winning and sharp to hold you until the end, even as you're disappointed by the direction the film takes.
- 70VarietyDennis HarveyVarietyDennis HarveyRecalls last year's "World's Greatest Dad," similarly using a snowballing fib to lampoon the ambulance-chasing relationship between morbidity and celebrity. But unlike that primarily satirical exercise, Norman gradually ditches the snark in favor of poignant, understated dramatics.
- Norman may not conquer the box office, but it will certainly be a worthy calling card for its director and its leading man.
- 70Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyLos Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyThe humor is sly and not overplayed either. Typical is the English class with Mr. Angelo (Adam Goldberg) trying to prod his bored students into parsing the difference between satire and irony, which is what the filmmakers are up to as well.
- 63New York PostLou LumenickNew York PostLou LumenickThere's a winning emotional truth in the father-son scenes in this Spokane-shot sleeper, directed with skill and sensitivity by Jonathan Segal.
- 58The A.V. ClubSam AdamsThe A.V. ClubSam AdamsChances are, Norman would have seemed like a retread whenever it came out, but it does the movie no favors to release it in the shadow of "Terri" and "Submarine," both far more compelling portraits of high-school loners, and both released to DVD in the last few weeks.
- 50Village VoiceVillage VoiceAlthough Norman, shot on location in Spokane and scored by singer-songwriter Andrew Bird, succeeds in fleshing out its troubled main character, the actions of his peers are consistently harder to accept.
- Segal's film tries to straddle the line between darkly funny and just plain dark, but even with a game cast and an offbeat premise, Norman is a disquieting outing with little in the way of honest payoff.
- 38Slant MagazineBill WeberSlant MagazineBill WeberAlternately maudlin and snarky, Norman just doesn't risk enough, and can be consigned to the status of what the school drama geek would call "some contemporary, obscure, teen-angst thing."