Margaret (2011)

This is a glorious mess of frayed-edges filmmaking with staggering cumulative power. Paquin gives a ferociously committed performance as the film goes disturbingly and brilliantly off the rails after the central accident.

The critic finds the film a stunning, provocative and brilliant sprawling drama of modern life. He singles out Anna Paquin's raw, thin-skinned lead performance for particular praise.

The critic finds the film a rich and searching drama despite its long production troubles, calling it knotty, ambitious and full of messy human truths. They single out Anna Paquin’s startling central performance for particular praise.

The critic praises the film's vast ambition and sublime heights as a daring, post-9/11 vision of New York as the essence of American ideals, deeming its flaws insignificant in light of its core strengths. Performances, particularly Anna Paquin's and Jeannie Berlin's standout supporting turn, are highlighted as honors to the material.

The critic calls the film too long yet the work of a genius, praising its witty, generous multi-stranded storytelling and subtle truths. They single out the many strong female roles and especially Anna Paquin’s astounding lead performance.

The long-delayed film flopped at the box office but deserves better for its ambitious, messy exploration of guilt and human connections in post-9/11 New York.

Lonergan crafts an unwieldy but far-reaching portrait of a teen's evolving self-awareness and the ripples of an accidental death, using jagged emotions and New York settings to mirror characters' agitation and dislocation.

Fine performances and bristling language compel in this overlong, often off-putting but well-observed New York story of a teen's guilt-driven quest for justice after a fatal accident she helped cause.

The critic finds the narrative flabby and the central character unlikeable but notes that ideas and scenes spark along the way. Anna Paquin delivers a career-best performance in this important post-9/11 movie with its own troubled mythology.

More than a bit manic, the film has as much distinct wide-eyed personality as it has little focus and is likely to be misunderstood. Lonergan is a gifted writer whose sophomore effort occasionally howls with an energy and pain that summons the tangled emotions of adolescence.

The critic finds the film disappointing overall due to persistent editing problems that were never resolved, resulting in a messy and unfocused narrative despite its post-9/11 themes. Strong performances, especially from Anna Paquin as the lead and Jeannie Berlin in a supporting role, are singled out for praise amid the flaws.

The critic laments the film as an unrealized dream that teases with moments of brilliance but ultimately frustrates due to its fitful structure and the scars of its troubled post-production. Lonergan's talent for relationships and actors is praised, but the overambition and editing disputes left it a wasted opportunity compared to his debut.

The critic describes the film as an angry, cacophonous, and unwieldy storm scarred by its legal and editing limbo, hyperarticulate yet rarely eloquent with scenes that lack credible motivation. It stands as a cautionary tale of sophomore overambition despite the strong ensemble cast including Anna Paquin.

The extended cut is praised as one of the best films of the past ten years, with Lonergan fixing the gaze on planes, criss-crossing conversations, and cold honesty in key scenes that build understanding of the lead character's sense of responsibility. The afterglow is powerful and rare.

The critic praises Lonergan's writing and the film's lived-in world, highlighting strong performances especially from Jeannie Berlin and Anna Paquin in the extended cut. He views it as a masterpiece about America and retroactively one of the best films of 2011.

One critic hails it as a picaresque, beautifully rendered and affecting drama worth the wait, with an electric charge in performances and a grand opera finale that forgives earlier messiness. The counter-review finds a good movie inside but calls the theatrical cut unfocused, self-important and ultimately frustrating due to its baggy structure and shrill lead.

The critic calls the released version a very good film with superb ensemble acting and a rich, messy collection of moral dilemmas that sticks in the mind. However, its political allegory has been blunted by bad timing and delayed release, making it feel like just another rites-of-passage indie.

The critic calls the film a pretentious, talky bore and a mess that fails to engage despite its many incidents and themes. He singles out Jeannie Berlin's performance for praise as a standout amid the dullness.