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Little Woods (Crossing the Line)

2018

Nia DaCosta

Tessa Thompson, Lily James, James Badge Dale, Lance Reddick ...

5.5

101

Drama. Western Ollie (Tessa Thompson) is a reformed drug runner in an economically depressed small town in North Dakota, who was caught coming back from Canada with medicine for her terminally ill mother and has been toeing the line ever since. After her mother dies, Ollie’s sister Deb (Lily James) shows up on her doorstep with a hungry child and an unplanned pregnancy. Ollie can only see one viable option: quickly raise money to pay back the bank and ... [+]

	Author	Review
United States	Manohla Dargis The New York Times	"Tessa Thompson emotionally expands 'Little Woods', turning a small movie into something more than its textured parts.	POS
United States	Peter Travers Rolling Stone	"[It] can be plodding, humorless and hobbled by trying to cram too much in. But its ambitions, with Thompson putting a human face on urgent contemporary issues, deserve the highest praise (…) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Peter Debruge Variety	"[Nothing] feels invented or contrived, although that’s perhaps more of a weakness than a strength, since 'Little Woods' presents a grimly plausible picture of lower-middle-class inertia somewhat lacking in imagination"	NEU
United States	John DeFore The Hollywood Reporter	"A grim mission enlivened by Thompson's performance"	POS
United States	Brandon Katz The New York Observer	"'Little Woods' is very personal and very touching, and it makes a compelling argument as to why good people do bad things"	POS
United States	Chuck Bowen Slant	"'Little Woods' is concerned with topical 'relevance' at the expense of drama—or, more bluntly, it’s a thriller that thinks it’s too good for thrills (…) Rating: ★★ (out of 4)"	NEU
United Kingdom	David D'Arcy Screendaily	"[It] is an x-ray of American ills"	POS
United States	Brian Tallerico rogerebert.com	"If 'Little Woods' had trusted its two leading ladies just a little bit more, it could have been a truly great movie. As is, it's a very good one that is worth seeing mostly for its cast. (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"	POS
United States	Candice Frederick The Wrap	"The film fails to provoke a strong emotion from the audience other than a heavy sense of hopelessness, but that's also what makes it so interesting. It doesn't bother to coddle."	NEU
United States	Katie Rife AV Club	"If this is [DaCosta's] starting line, imagine what she'll be able to do once she hits her stride."	POS
United States	Sam Weisberg Village Voice	"Nia DaCosta’s absorbing debut is laced with urgent dread, experienced by characters you care deeply about."	POS

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