65
Metascore
18 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 91Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanBranagh, chewing on a plummy Georgia accent, makes the divorced, boozing, and womanizing Magruder a smug yet touchingly vulnerable legal player.
- 80The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinWith unexpected success, Robert Altman plays a John Grisham mystery in a seductive new key.
- 78Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenAustin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenThe most stylish and original John Grisham story on film.
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertIt's all atmospheric, quirky and entertaining: the kind of neo-noir in which old-fashioned characters have updated problems.
- 70Film ThreatRon WellsFilm ThreatRon WellsBest of all, Robert Downey Jr., as Rick's seedy private eye provides a little comic relief at his own expense.
- 67Christian Science MonitorChristian Science MonitorThe acting is also solid, starting with Branagh's believable Georgia accent.
- 63The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenAnd, in a pointless riffing on the title, there are ginger kitties galore -- this flick has enough cats to launch a Broadway musical.
- 50Chicago ReaderLisa AlspectorChicago ReaderLisa AlspectorThe lesson of this barely stylish crime thriller is that a dull story is not improved by withholding information about characters' motives from the audience as long as possible.
- All accusatory fingers should be pointed at director Robert Altman, who further drains his reputation surplus with this unoriginal and uninteresting piece of exploitation.
- 40The New RepublicStanley KauffmannThe New RepublicStanley KauffmannBuilt on one of those particularly ludicrous plots in which, just before the end, we are meant to believe that a long succession of coincidences was really a diabolical scheme. [23 Feb 1998, p. 24]