54
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment WeeklyYes, writer-director Michael Johnson cranks the Malick meter up to 11 in this sensitive coming-of-age drama.
- 70Village VoicePete Vonder HaarVillage VoicePete Vonder HaarIn spite of the tatty "coming of age" familiarity, Johnson's vision seems fresh and vibrant.
- 67The PlaylistKevin JagernauthThe PlaylistKevin JagernauthAll The Wilderness may ultimately be hindered by a narrow scope, but within that view, Johnson gets pretty much every detail right.
- 63Slant MagazineChuck BowenSlant MagazineChuck BowenThe images gorgeously embody both the fear and the beauty of James's exploratory experiments with socialization.
- 60Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyLos Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyAll the Wilderness seems tailor-made to play to the actor's strengths — Johnson's script is as lean as Smit-McPhee, both proving adept at doing more with less.
- 60New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanFirst-time writer/director Michael Johnson falls back on coming-of-age clichés. But overall, his sensitive, moody camerawork and the cast’s strong performances go a long way toward making the familiar feel fresh.
- 50Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreWriter-director Michael Johnson covers a lot of familiarly morbid teen ground in All the Wilderness, a film with touches of “Ordinary People” and a hint of “Harold & Maude.” But touches and a hint aren’t enough to lift this morose movie into anything any of us need to see or hear to deepen our understanding of teen depression, grief and love.
- 50The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloThe A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloNothing even remotely wild touches this generic indie movie, which embraces every imaginable cliché in depicting the emotional travails of a sensitive kid in mourning. There isn’t a wolf in it, nor a fox, nor a hog, nor much of anything else. Maybe a chicken.
- 50The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisMr. Johnson doesn’t give fateful weight to the breadcrumbs that guide James forward. Glancing encounters and faltering conversations unfold lightly and with a visual seductiveness that the cinematographer, Adam Newport-Berra, crescendos in the film’s drifting, transformative middle section.
- 40The DissolveKate ErblandThe DissolveKate ErblandThe stakes of All The Wilderness aren’t high, because Johnson never directs his attentions to the real issue at hand: James is ill, and gallivanting around Portland for a few nights isn’t going to fix that.