Three pre-adolescents with virginal and eager-of-signals naivety, hit headlong against monstrous and inhospitable loneliness, in the incandescent fire among the ashes of their own inocence.
The stories coexist without intersecting, and the film would benefit from a stronger narrative spine, but bringing together three such gifted young actors in a single film is a minor miracle.
– Colin Covert,
Minneapolis Star Tribune,
15 Jun 2006
fresh:
Flawed but compassionate study of kids struggling with grown-up issues without much adult supervison.
– Lisa Kennedy,
Denver Post,
16 Jun 2006
fresh:
Raw and unpredictable. It's also compelling.
– Ruthe Stein,
San Francisco Chronicle,
16 Jun 2006
fresh:
The film careens from crisis to crisis. Yet each time it threatens to spin out of control, [director Michael] Cuesta demonstrates a firm hand that keeps us leaning in with interest.
– Hap Erstein,
Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
6 Aug 2006
rotten:
... a film that never quite equals the sum of its many intriguing parts.