31
Metascore
10 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinLos Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinMore epic than it needs to be and less profound than it should be, Jolene remains a watchable excursion into human frailty and foibles.
- 60MovielineMichelle OrangeMovielineMichelle OrangeChastain, an incandescent redhead with a heart-shaped face and round, shining eyes, does more justice to the part than it deserves.
- 40The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThey don't make movies like Jolene anymore, and that's a good thing.
- 40New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanThe tone veers wildly, from wacky indie to melodramatic soap opera. Like the other men in her life, Ireland adores Jolene without entirely understanding her.
- 30VarietyRob NelsonVarietyRob NelsonThough stretched to a two-hour run time, Doctorow's socially critical tale is reduced to queasy spectacle.
- 30Village VoiceVillage VoiceThroughout, Chastain delivers a full-bodied debut performance, but she's ultimately stuck taking her wandering-soul protagonist far more seriously than it-or the film-deserves.
- 30The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisJolene's skin may smell like warm milk to Brad, but to the rest of us it has curdled long before she leaves his bed.
- 0New York PostLou LumenickNew York PostLou LumenickSo bad it's almost (but not quite) good, Dan Ireland's Jolene is an unusually elaborate and excruciatingly long vanity production based on a short story by E.L. Doctorow ("Ragtime").