The story of a Jewish novelist, Harry Lesser, struggling to complete his latest work, and his antagonistic relationship with a black writer who moves in down the hall.
Alternately tedious and bombastic, the film never achieves a consistent tone, and the characters and situations, while seemingly played on a realistic level, are neither remotely credible nor satisfyingly surreal.
– Frank Scheck,
Hollywood Reporter,
9 Feb 2006
fresh:
Snoop Dogg and Bernard Malamud don't often pop up in the same sentence, but they make an effective combination in a quiet little indie called The Tenants.
– Kyle Smith,
New York Post,
3 Feb 2006
rotten:
Unremittingly bleak and hopelessly outdated.
– Jack Mathews,
New York Daily News,
3 Feb 2006
rotten:
The message about race relations in America conveyed by this choppy and psychologically cauterized screen adaptation of Bernard Malamud's 1971 novel is dire.
– Stephen Holden,
New York Times,
2 Feb 2006
rotten:
The stage is set for a full-scale racial conflict, but neither actor is really up to the task.