70
Metascore
23 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83Portland OregonianShawn LevyPortland OregonianShawn LevyAt the end, you're refreshed, like Pauline after she swallows an entire soft drink in one gulp, and it feels terrific.
- 80New Times (L.A.)Bill GalloNew Times (L.A.)Bill GalloDisturbing, beautifully acted movie.
- 80VarietyVarietyHeartfelt and heart-rending performances make all the difference in Pauline and Paulette, a delightfully bittersweet story.
- 80Village VoiceLeslie CamhiVillage VoiceLeslie CamhiWithout condescension, Debrauwer offers comic glimpses into their separate dreams of grandeur, but he lets Pauline's touching simplicity unite them.
- 75Boston GlobeJay CarrBoston GlobeJay CarrSentimental and has its heart on its sleeve, but never heavy-handedly so, and its delicacy and tenderness will get to you if you give it half a chance.
- 75New York Daily NewsJack MathewsNew York Daily NewsJack MathewsPlumbs the issue of sibling love and family responsibility in quietly powerful ways, and the performances of the two stars surpass convincing to reach a level of biographical realism.
- 70L.A. WeeklyPaul MalcolmL.A. WeeklyPaul MalcolmThe film's plainness, and the understated force of van der Groen and Petersen's performances, sharpen its complexity of feeling until all mawkishness is cut away.
- 30Washington PostWashington PostThere is something disturbing about yet another iteration of what's become one of the movies' creepiest conventions, in which the developmentally disabled are portrayed with almost supernatural powers to humble, teach and ultimately redeem their mentally "superior" (read: morally inferior) friends, family and acquaintances.
- 20The A.V. ClubScott TobiasThe A.V. ClubScott TobiasDebrauwer's characterization is as sharp and incisive as a butter knife.