57
Metascore
12 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75TV Guide MagazineKen FoxTV Guide MagazineKen FoxIt's a handsome production, and a pleasure to watch. With a shadowy palette and a set design reminiscent of Edward Hopper's nocturnes, a soundtrack hearkening back to the sounds of vintage rock 'n' roll, and a cast of characters straight out of a James M. Cain novel.
- 75New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoIf you're new to Kaurismaki, the film will make you a fan. If you've seen everything else he's ever done, the comedy will confirm your commitment.
- 75Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumThere's great music, an excellent dog, and that indescribable Kaurismäki tension between misery and a cosmic joke.
- 75New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanKaurismaki's characteristically minimalist humor and wry empathy make brief appearances, but be warned: His Helsinki is a cold, dark place unfit for all but the hardiest visitors.
- 67The A.V. ClubScott TobiasThe A.V. ClubScott TobiasWithout Kaurismäki to introduce these lonely, forgotten souls to audiences, who's going to be his friend?
- 50VarietyVarietyLights in the Dusk finds veteran Finnish helmer Aki Kaurismaki treading water with an amiable but very undercooked noirish fable about a security guard done wrong by a femme fatale.
- 50SalonAndrew O'HehirSalonAndrew O'HehirSo stylized and slow-moving (even at a spare 75 minutes) that you may have trouble adapting to its hypnotic rhythms -- but if you can, there are sumptuous visual rewards to be found, plus the faintest emotional uptick right at the end.
- 40The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttLights will put in more appearances at festivals before achieving a brief theatrical window for Kaurismaki devotees to gaze through. Most will do so with discouragement.
- 40The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenThis spare, minimalist film is not realistic. It has the simplicity of a silent movie, and the blocking of the actors, especially in the scenes with Koistinen and Mirja, emphasizes the distances between them.
- 40Village VoiceVillage VoiceLights in the Dusk derives scant excitement from its melodramatic plot, which satisfies a dismal, ineluctable formula with stultifying efficiency. Nor is it enlivened by the airless performances.