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Movies / On DVD / Imaginary Heroes
Imaginary Heroes

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Imaginary Heroes (2004)

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Reviews Counted:101

Fresh:35

Rotten:66

Average Rating:5.2/10

Consensus: Imaginary Heroes is a muddled, melodramatic and unconvincing drama.

Runtime: 1 hr 57 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: This realistic family film starring Sigourney Weaver and Emile Hirsch as a loving mother and son asks some deep questions about mortality, the risks of depression, and staying together verses... This realistic family film starring Sigourney Weaver and Emile Hirsch as a loving mother and son asks some deep questions about mortality, the risks of depression, and staying together verses splitting up. Living in a beautiful house in a manicured suburban neighborhood, the Travis family seems flawless at first glance. That is, until the handsome eldest son (Kip Pardue), a star swimmer, commits suicide, leaving the family in pieces. The father (Jeff Daniels), rejects the other members of the family, becoming distant and aloof. The college-student daughter (Michelle Williams), rarely visits home any more. The mother (Weaver), resorts to petty quibbles with her next-door neighbor (Deirdre O'Connell), and develops a minor--but highly amusing--marijuana habit. And the youngest son, Tim (Hirsch)--who is the protagonist and the real victim in the story--searches for meaning, identity, and solace from the chaos that surrounds him. Tim's best friend Kyle (Ryan Donowho) experiments with drugs and sex, providing for some understated and poignant coming-of-age situations. But for the most part, it is the chemistry between expert actors Weaver and Hirsch that carries the film, making IMAGINARY HEROES a lovely, sensitive meditation on the mid-life family crisis. [More]

Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Emile Hirsch, Jeff Daniels, Deirdre O'Connell

Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Emile Hirsch, Jeff Daniels, Deirdre O'Connell, Kip Pardue, Ryan Donowho, Michelle Williams, Suzanne Santo

Director: Daniel Harris

Director: Daniel Harris
Screenwriter: Daniel Harris
Producer: Illana Diamant, Gina Resnick, Art Linson, Denise Shaw
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

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Reviews for Imaginary Heroes

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1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
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It’s unusual and faintly disturbing to see Jeff Daniels play such an unlikeable character.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
07/05/05
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Especially forceful performances make it well worth watching, even if it becomes a bit too much at times.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
06/04/05
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
07/05/05
Empire Magazine
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N/R

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Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
07/05/05
BBC
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Full Review Source: Independent | comment Comment
12/06/05
Independent
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Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
07/05/05
David Edwards
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

Sigourney Weaver gives a terrific performance in this impressive film.

Full Review Source: Sympatico.ca | comment Comment
03/21/05
Angela Baldassarre
Angela Baldassarre
Sympatico.ca

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Movie Gazette | comment Comment
07/05/05
Anton Bitel
Anton Bitel
Movie Gazette

Weaver dominates the proceedings, bringing such intelligence, energy, and complexity to the role that it should be a crime she hasn’t received but a whisper of Oscar buzz.

Full Review Source: FilmStew.com | comment Comment
12/19/04
Brett Buckalew
Brett Buckalew
FilmStew.com

This is a nice debut for director Harris, and for fans of dysfunctional family stories, a great addition to an under-appreciated genre.

Full Review Source: FilmJerk.com | comment Comment
02/09/05
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
FilmJerk.com

The gift of Imaginary Heroes is getting to know these anything- but-ordinary people.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
03/03/05
Carrie Rickey
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer

unusually bold and affecting

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
12/16/04
Chris Barsanti
Chris Barsanti
Filmcritic.com

Sigourney Weaver is impeccable as a distraught mother who resorts to pot to barricade her emotions in writer/director Dan Harris' diamond-sharp treatise on American family dysfunction that makes "The Ice Storm" look like a walk in the park.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
07/02/09
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

With an eager urgency full of risk, [director] Harris piles on emotional layers and keeps winking back-stories at us.

Full Review Source: San Diego Union-Tribune | comment Comment
03/04/05
David Elliott
David Elliott
San Diego Union-Tribune

...a very good movie that falls short of excellence...

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
09/12/04
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

Superbly acted.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
12/16/04
David Sterritt
David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor

Audiences may feel compelled towards labeling Imaginary Heroes nothing more than a movie-of-the-week. But, most will have to admit, it’s a pretty good one.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
10/14/04
Erik Childress
Erik Childress
eFilmCritic.com

Has a patchwork quality that can be infuriating, but it's never bland or uninteresting, and works more often than not...clearly the work of a filmmaker of promise.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
02/14/05
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

A hard-hitting drama about the sharp edges of grief and the need for families to nurture openness and love in the midst of tragedies that test their mettle.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
12/16/04
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; UK critics are listed first)
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