Metacritic Movie Ratings
Things We Lost in the Fire Reviews

A sample of reviews from critics across the country.

• 75

  out of 100

  USA TodayClaudia Puig

  The movie makes some missteps, most of them in pacing and length, and the story veers occasionally into melodrama, but it is saved by the powerful performance of Benicio Del Toro.

  Read full review

• 75

  out of 100

  Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert

  The movie is an engrossing melodrama, and it has its heart in the right place.

  Read full review

• 60

  out of 100

  Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan

  Things are sporadically troublesome about the film. The story goes in and out of being self-consciously earnest and ponderous, a situation that numerous tight close-ups of people's eyes does nothing to help.

  Read full review

• 60

  out of 100

  VarietyTodd McCarthy

  A live-wire performance by Benicio Del Toro sparks an otherwise morose study of loss, addiction and catharsis.

  Read full review

• 58

  out of 100

  Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum

  No matter what panache Bier adds, Things We Lost is still a TV-scaled tear-duct drama about a beautiful woman who pushes past sadness in her House & Garden home.

  Read full review

• 50

  out of 100

  The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt

  An unstable mix of a tearjerker, junkie-recovery story and odd-couple pairing. The film marks the American debut of Danish filmmaker Susanne Bier, whose European films show a strong affinity for stories of human frailties and of families unraveling.

  Read full review

• 40

  out of 100

  The New York TimesStephen Holden

  Although neither Ms. Berry nor Mr. Del Toro can be faulted in their scenery-chewing moments, these star turns make you uncomfortably aware that they are Oscar-conscious auditions for the Big Prize. Their naked ambition subtly contaminates a movie that, despite its fine acting, has the emotional impact of a general anesthetic.

  Read full review

See all Things We Lost in the Fire movie reviews at Metacritic.com