Although strongly acted and deeply felt, writer-director Jeremy Davidson's arcanely titled Tickling Leo is too theatrically conceived and diffusely told to satisfy its lofty aspirations.
Comment
10/16/09
Tickling Leo (2009)
31
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:13
Fresh:4
Rotten:9
Average Rating:4.5/10
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: In the days before Yom Kippur (aka the Day of Atonement), Zak Pikler takes his pregnant girlfriend, Delphina, to find his estranged father in the family drama TICKLING LEO. When they reach the... [More]
Starring: Eli Wallach, Lawrence Pressman, Daniel Sauli, Annie Parisse
Director: Jeremy Davidson
Reviews for Tickling Leo
1 - 13 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Top CriticDirector Jeremy Davidson's father-son tale is refreshingly edgy and well-acted, but painfully obvious in almost every other way.
09/04/09
The film’s rich performances, in which every shade of every character’s emotions registers, can go only so far to camouflage the glaring lapses in a drama that often confuses hints and allusions with coherent storytelling.
09/04/09
Top CriticDirector Davidson still shines with this modest production.
09/03/09
Top CriticBriefly in theaters now, Tickling Leo -- the title makes little sense -- will undoubtedly disappear quickly, only to have a faltering second life at small film festivals. You'll miss little if you pass it by.
09/03/09
less an integrated film project than a collection of actors' audition tapes, high energy exercises that look impressive individually but compiled together in a film are nothing short of ridiculous.
09/03/09
[Pressman's] performance ... as the increasingly demented poet and Holocaust survivor Warren Pikler, gives us the man Warren was, is and will be. It isn't easy, but like a long line drive, it's a great thing to watch.
09/03/09
Ostensibly about Holocaust guilt, writer/director Jeremy Davidson's poorly scripted, filmed, and executed drama plays out like an unfinished low budget soap opera.
09/02/09
Jeremy Davidson has the heart for a reconciliation drama -- but not the words.
09/02/09
A radiant perf by Annie Parisse and a virtuoso turn by Eli Wallach are insufficient to lift this male intergenerational angst-fest out of the ghetto.
09/02/09
Top CriticImpressive production and performances outweigh ambiguities in this low-budget Holocaust-themed contemporary drama...
09/02/09
Top CriticDavidson weaves deeper questions of who a Jew is into this powerful tale of a clan shredded by the rage and hatred passed down through three generations.
09/01/09
In beautifully photographed settings, brings together an excellent cast, which almost overcomes the film's very labored themes, but an unconvincing debut feature.
09/01/09
1 - 13 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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