Lovely, Still: Critic Reviews

Will hit home with anyone who has had to struggle with the most difficult aspects of aging.

Call Lovely, Still life-affirming if you must, but its uplift is designed less to reassure than to honor the difficult process of how we deal when faced with the loss of those we have loved.

Fackler's patronizing debut reduces a lifetime of experience into a collection of senior citizen stereotypes.

It concerns an older man, alone during the holidays, who unexpectedly finds love. It also features two strong performances from veteran actors Martin Landau and Ellen Burstyn.

A haunting duet for two great actors who haven't lost a step and have gained the most exquisite lyricism.

It seems too much at first, but Fackler's up to something.

Mr. Landau invests each move with sincerity and directness, and with her flawless skin and ageless smile, Ms. Burstyn still has the candlelit sweetness of spun sugar. Even in a disappointing film, watching her is indeed lovely, still.

If you're old enough to pluck gray hairs, you may find yourself rubbing away a few tears.

The places where Fackler has problems or allows things to get a tad too sentimental are smoothed over by the unmatched skills of the effortlessly superb Burstyn and Landau.

There are moments during Lovely, Still when it feels like you're trapped with Martin Landau and Ellen Burstyn in a kitschy musical Christmas snowglobe that someone keeps shaking.

The performances from Landau and Burstyn are gobsmacking, and while there's nothing truly unexpected or surprising in the story, these two keep you watching regardless.

A couple . . . who can still prove that true love never dies--only if love can survive this heavy-handed dose of sentimentality landing on it.

For Fackler, Lovely, Still remains an impressive first step towards another directing project.

There's nothing minor about the central performances in this film, even if they're in the pursuit of something that just doesn't quite work overall.

A poignant primer on making the most of a last chance at romance!

Unlike Sarah Polley's superior kindred spirit Away from Her, Lovely, Still's portrait of late-life love is excruciatingly shallow and phony.

It was Bette Davis who said 'growing old ain't for sissies.' And this film reiterates that notion from which no human being lucky enough to survive that long is exempt, framing old age as perhaps the greatest superhero screen manifestation of all.

Lovely, Still made me feel sorry for its venerable stars, despite my fondness for their legacies and my gratitude for their committed best efforts through most of the film.

The chemistry between the two of them is so beautiful and the astonishing poignancy of the final scene, done with all of just one line of dialogue is applause-worthy in and of itself.

...[Martin Landau's] stirring portrayal is ultimately the most consistently captivating element within the proceedings.