Those wondering if movies still have power to shock need only watch the first few minutes of Rebecca Miller's lovely, free-swinging film Personal Velocity.
Comment
12/06/02
Personal Velocity (2002)
69
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:99
Fresh:68
Rotten:31
Average Rating:6.5/10
Consensus: Uneven, but a keenly observed and well-acted film about three women's lives.
Runtime: 2 hrs 5 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Three very different women confront life-changing decisions in this film derived from Rebecca Miller's book of short stories. Each woman has reached a turning point in her life. Delia (Kyra... [More]
Starring: Fairuza Balk, Parker Posey, Kyra Sedgwick, John Ventimiglia
Director: Rebecca Miller
Reviews for Personal Velocity
A hit-and-miss affair.
12/06/02
With tightly organized efficiency, numerous flashbacks and a constant edge of tension, Miller's film is one of 2002's involvingly adult surprises.
12/06/02
Even with the explanatory voiceovers, these episodes feel truncated and unsatisfactory.
12/06/02
My thoughts were focused on the characters. That is a compliment to Kuras and Miller. If I had been thinking about the visual medium, they would have been doing something wrong.
12/06/02
Top CriticVelocity represents everything wrong with ''independent film'' as a commodified, sold-out concept on the American filmmaking scene.
12/06/02
Featuring decent to strong performances and stories, the film has its moments. Yet, the segmented/fragmented format undermines the effort, no matter the loose, connective theme.
12/05/02
Facile and simplistic, spurting out the same hyper-feminist platitudes that I thought had been long abandoned
12/05/02
The actors navigate tough characters through emotional mayhem with such intense determination it's a shame they're undercut by the intrusive voice-over.
12/05/02
Boasts the finest female ensemble of the year.
12/05/02
Keenly observed triptych.
12/05/02
Taken individually or collectively, the stories never add up to as much as they promise.
12/05/02
[Miller's] heavy use of narration has a negative impact on her film, making it ofttimes feel like an audio book with pictures
12/04/02
Makes you feel like you're reading a great compendium of short stories in which vibrant images literally burst from the pages.
12/04/02
I read the short stories by Rebecca Miller, and she did a wonderful job of bringing these stories to the screen.
12/02/02
A deeply interior "chick triptych" whose ideas and intent don’t play well with film form.
12/02/02
Miller gets away with stuff that other filmmakers are crucified for (too much narration, that pretentious title) because her characters are so well observed.
12/02/02
A movie that sets certain strict parameters for itself in terms of time, dramatic focus and technique, and then works modest but striking wonders within those self-imposed limitations.
11/29/02
Artfully shot on digital video, Miller's film benefits from an improvisational approach that allows three solid actresses a chance to invent their characters as they go along.
11/29/02
A drama that HBO would be proud to present on cable -- a drama that's often insightful and occasionally powerful but is still, at heart, a piece of television and not a work of film.
11/29/02
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