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Movies / On DVD / Lonesome Jim
Lonesome Jim

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Lonesome Jim (2006)

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Reviews Counted:87

Fresh:51

Rotten:36

Average Rating:6/10

Consensus: Though Lonesome Jim is leavened by sweet, understated humor, it's hard to root for such a morose, self-defeating protagonist.

Rated: 15

Runtime: 87 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:11-04-2008

Synopsis: With LONESOME JIM, director Steve Buscemi delivers another low-budget gem about small-town American life. Boasting a fresh script courtesy of James C. Strouse, the film begins when 27-year-old Jim... With LONESOME JIM, director Steve Buscemi delivers another low-budget gem about small-town American life. Boasting a fresh script courtesy of James C. Strouse, the film begins when 27-year-old Jim (Casey Affleck) returns to his small Indiana town after having failed to make a dent as a writer in New York City. Depressed beyond comprehension, Jim must contend with his actively suicidal brother (Kevin Corrigan), insane mother (Mary Kay Place), and dangerously clueless uncle (Mark Boone Junior). Along the way, he meets a too-good-to-be-true nurse, Anika (Liv Tyler), and begins coaching his niece's hapless basketball squad. As time passes, the fog threatens to hang around forever, making Jim wonder if returning home might have been the worst mistake of all. Hilarious in its honesty, tender in its performances, and compassionate in its direction, LONESOME JIM is an example of superior independent filmmaking. Casey Affleck and Liv Tyler deliver especially wonderful performances, giving three-dimensional depth to characters that could potentially have come off as one-note clichés. One can only hope that audiences will see through the low-budget production values and embrace the film's universal themes. [More]

Starring: Casey Affleck, Liv Tyler, Mary Kay Place, Seymour Cassel

Starring: Casey Affleck, Liv Tyler, Mary Kay Place, Seymour Cassel, Kevin Corrigan, Mark Boone

Director: Steve Buscemi

Director: Steve Buscemi
Screenwriter: James C. Strouse
Producer: Celine Rattray, Jake Abraham
Studio: IFC Films

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Reviews for Lonesome Jim

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1 - 20 (sorted by comments; UK critics are listed first)
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Though this clash of picket-fenced, down-home values and big city oafishness was handled with a little more delicacy in 2005’s superb ‘Junebug’, Buscemi’s film has lots to say about this fruitful dynamic.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
04/11/08
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
10/18/08
Cath Clarke
Cath Clarke
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Refreshingly, there’s more lethargy than awakening here...

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Dave Calhoun
Dave Calhoun
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Minimalist, moody and morose, Lonesome Jim is a minor gem.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
04/11/08
James Mottram
James Mottram
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
04/10/08
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

The world would be a better place if Steve Buscemi made more movies.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
04/11/08
Nev Pierce
Nev Pierce
Total Film

Steve Buscemi's third film as a director is a low key affair delivered with a wry sense of humour.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/11/08
Paul Arendt
Paul Arendt
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's such a joy to watch that we often forget it's basically about people who have lost the will to live

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
10/30/05
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

It's poignant, quietly life-affirming little story that doesn't need to shout. Lonesome Jim's good company.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment Comment
04/11/08
Tim Evans
Tim Evans
Sky Movies

Its mopey pace and the forced 'quirkiness' of its characters will have you reaching for the Ambien in no time.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
03/31/06
E! Online
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
05/06/06
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Place [has] played overly chirpy, middle-class mothers/wives before, but the mom here is slowly revealed, through the subtlest changes of expression, to be much more than a caricature.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
03/31/06
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

"Lonesome Jim" is worth checking out, if nothing else for the performances and Buscemi's idiosyncratic sense of irony.

Full Review Source: Sympatico.ca | comment Comment
05/26/06
Angela Baldassarre
Angela Baldassarre
Sympatico.ca

A slight, but amusing and occasionally touching, dark comedy about depression and dysfunction that percolates with indie film hipness.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
04/20/06
Bob Longino
Bob Longino
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: NPR.org | comment Comment
10/18/08
Bob Mondello
Bob Mondello
NPR.org

Jim's characters may grow on you after a slow setup and, like a hot plate of grits, may stick with you.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
04/07/06
Bruce Westbrook
Bruce Westbrook
Houston Chronicle

In the end, Lonesome Jim is an enormously hopeful and, I think, realistic film.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
04/13/06
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

Has great relevance to the lost adultolescent generation of today ... but it also flounders in its commonplace and too-familiar concept.

Full Review Source: Cinematical | comment Comment
09/17/07
Christopher Campbell
Christopher Campbell
Cinematical

Screenwriter James C. Strouse (in whose hometown the film was shot) provides so few clues to the source of Jim’s malaise, or that of his entire sad-sack family, that the movie remains rudderless and not the least bit believable.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
03/30/06
Chuck Wilson
Chuck Wilson
L.A. Weekly

"Lonesome Jim" is an earnest and modest 'little independent' movie that charms by way of its understated underachieving characters.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
04/20/09
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by comments; UK critics are listed first)
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