50
Metascore
13 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyThe Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyFronted by an outstanding performance from Catherine Keener, who is onscreen, often by herself, at almost every moment, this challenging but not difficult second feature from Mark Jackson parcels out its information in gradual increments, forcing the viewer to infer rather simply receive most narrative information.
- 70Village VoiceSerena DonadoniVillage VoiceSerena DonadoniJackson and co-screenwriter Kristin Gore prize ambiguity, allowing for cathartic revelations but no easy resolutions.
- Jackson’s technique is undercut, if only a little, by story and characters that sometimes cross the line from minimalist to just plain underdeveloped. Yet as a formal exercise that gives Keener the space to really inhabit her character, War Story is effective.
- Jackson is wise to keep Keener's pushy, desperate Lee in centre focus.
- 50Slant MagazineClayton DillardSlant MagazineClayton DillardMark Jackson's direction strips much of the agency from any character's grasp by insisting that their dilemmas can only be revealed with stone-faced austerity.
- 50New York PostSara StewartNew York PostSara StewartLee may not want to let anyone in, but it’s hard to engage fully with a film that doesn’t seem to want to, either.
- 40New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanAn excellent Keener commits reliably to the role and does give us moments worth savoring. But the underwritten script and misguided direction leave her stranded.
- 30The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisAiming for a moody portrait of psychological distress, Mark Jackson directs with a sluggish pace, an abstract style and a dismal aesthetic that rebuff involvement.
- 30The DissolveMike D'AngeloThe DissolveMike D'AngeloSincerity and good intentions are all it has going for it, alas, and the result is the cinematic equivalent of a plate full of spinach.
- 16The PlaylistRodrigo PerezThe PlaylistRodrigo PerezElusively told to the point of irritation, joyless and shot in chilly incarcerating rooms, War Story has the look and feel of an exhausted ashtray and borders on the pretentiously unclear.