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Movies / Upcoming / Quid Pro Quo
Quid Pro Quo

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Quid Pro Quo (2008)

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Reviews Counted:33

Fresh:20

Rotten:13

Average Rating:5.9/10

Consensus: Despite a stunning performance by Vera Farmiga, Quid Pro Quo never develops its effective parts into a convincing whole.

Runtime: 82 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Quid Pro Quo is a dark, puzzling tale of strangers who crash into one another's lives and transform them forever. Isaac, a paraplegic, is a popular New York City public-radio reporter who is... Quid Pro Quo is a dark, puzzling tale of strangers who crash into one another's lives and transform them forever. Isaac, a paraplegic, is a popular New York City public-radio reporter who is investigating a story from an anonymous source about a man who walked into a hospital demanding that his leg be amputated.

While pursuing the story to satisfy his own probing curiosity, Isaac meets the strikingly beautiful and mysterious Fiona, a restoration artist. Isaac's investigation not only initiates a relationship with Fiona but also leads him into the strange subculture of "wannabes," those longing for wholeness—or lack thereof—in rather peculiar ways. Will Fiona lead Isaac to answers about this underworld of seekers, or will their stormy association push him toward a more painful truth?

In his sleek directorial debut, Carlos Brooks confidently navigates the delicate line of the psychological thriller genre with the help of eerie and convincing performances from Vera Farmiga and Nick Stahl. Quid Pro Quo does not celebrate or sensationalize the subculture it portrays but instead explores the human psyche and allows the audience to ask questions. Brooks takes us on a journey to explore our desires, find order in disorder, and exhume the need to restore normalcy to a society we find ourselves ostracized from. --© Sundance Film Festival
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Starring: Nick Stahl, Vera Farmiga, Aimee Mullins, Leonardo Nam

Starring: Nick Stahl, Vera Farmiga, Aimee Mullins, Leonardo Nam, Jessica Hecht, Jacob Pitts, Pablo Schreiber, Phil LaMarr, Matthew Carey, Kate Burton

Director: Carlos Brooks

Director: Carlos Brooks
Screenwriter: Carlos Brooks
Producer: Sarah Pillsbury, Midge Sanford
Composer: Mark Mothersbaugh
Studio: Magnolia Pictures

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Reviews for Quid Pro Quo

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21 - 33 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Might work if it was really about what it's really about, but its too-tricky script has too many paths that lead nowhere.

Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment Comment
06/12/08
Matt Pais
Matt Pais
Metromix.com

A finely observed, compelling drama with the creepy tinge of a thriller.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
06/12/08
Rafer Guzman
Rafer Guzman
Newsday

If you needed to find something -- anything -- redeeming about Carlos Brooks’s ridiculous romantic thriller, you can at least credit it for not sticking to the paths most traveled.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
06/11/08
David Fear
David Fear
Time Out New York

It certainly won’t be everyone’s cup of breakfast bitters, but you can’t dismiss it nonchalantly.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
06/11/08
Rex Reed
Rex Reed
New York Observer

Quid Pro Quo is a respectable feature-film debut for Mr. Brooks, and it remains reasonably thought-provoking without ever becoming emotionally absorbing.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
06/11/08
Andrew Sarris
Andrew Sarris
New York Observer

Farmiga is captivating, Stahl less so -- although a bigger problem is writer/director Carlos Brooks's script, which sets up one story, then shifts gears into something more personal and psychologically specific.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
06/11/08
Jean Opppenheimer
Jean Opppenheimer
Village Voice

Like a fender-bender to David Cronenberg's Crash, Carlos Brooks' Quid Pro Quo is a tame, yet weird and wonderful love-letter to the walking wounded.

Full Review Source: Buzzine Magazine | comment Comment
06/10/08
Staci Layne Wilson
Staci Layne Wilson
Buzzine Magazine

A bleakly humorous romantic character study, Quid Pro Quo is appealingly offbeat until its narrative takes a wayward detour into pat simplifications.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
06/10/08
Nick Schager
Nick Schager
Slant Magazine

The first half of Quid Pro Quo is among the most jaw-dropping things I’ve ever seen: Who knew there was a closeted subculture of people pretending to be paraplegics?

Full Review Source: New York Magazine | comment Comment
06/09/08
David Edelstein
David Edelstein
New York Magazine

Not exactly Bunuel's differently abled erotica classic Tristana, it raises mystifying questions about disability as a state of mind. And whether or not the final clues to this mind over matter mystery reside in sex, shoes or tulips, hypochondriacs beware.

Full Review Source: NewsBlaze | comment Comment
05/09/08
Prairie Miller
Prairie Miller
NewsBlaze

Although not a perfect film, "Quid Pro Quo" is a highly crafted cinematic achievement that taps into its characters' subconscious with surgical precision and elegant assurance.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
05/08/08
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Has some pretty insightful things to say about the nature of being "disabled," and it says them with a good deal of humor, style, and understanding.

Full Review Source: Cinematical | comment Comment
01/28/08
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
Cinematical

An exceedingly odd meeting of the minds (and bodies) occurs in Quid Pro Quo, a strikingly original and provocative first feature from scribe-helmer Carlos Brooks.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
01/23/08
Justin Chang
Justin Chang
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
21 - 33 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2
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Latest News for Quid Pro Quo

August 11, 2008: Not exactly Bunuel's differently abled erotica classic Tristana, it raises mystifying questions about disability as a state of mind. And whether or not the final clues to this mind over matter mystery reside in sex, shoes or tulips, hypochondriacs beware. Opens in new window
More...

June 19, 2008: Why would anyone have an erotic compulsion to become physically handicapped? Opens in new window
More...

June 16, 2008: Not exactly Bunuel's differently abled erotica classic Tristana, it raises mystifying questions about disability as a state of mind. And whether or not the final clues to this mind over matter mystery reside in sex, shoes or tulips, hypochondriacs beware. Opens in new window
More...

May 18, 2008: Trailer & Poster review Opens in new window
More...

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