Joe Gould's Secret (film) - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

Stephen Holden of the New York Times said, "Sir Ian's ranting, fiery-eyed performance is the brilliant spark that ignites this otherwise rather somnolent film . . . The movie does a lovely job of evoking a boozy 1940's Greenwich Village of poetry readings, cavernous bars and raucous parties . . . Despite its rich period ambience and Sir Ian's fiery acting, the movie never brings Mitchell's relationship to Gould into clear enough focus . . . Lacking dramatic tension, Joe Gould's Secret settles for being an atmospheric scenes-in-the-life biography of someone's most unforgettable character. It could have been so much more."

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times observed, "Stanley Tucci is a director and actor with an openhearted generosity for his characters; he loves and forgives them . . . Here he's made a chamber piece of quiet scenes, acutely heard dialogue and subterranean emotional shifts . . . There is a dark, deep and sad undercurrent in the movie . . . Some have said the film is too quiet and slow. There is anguish here that makes American Beauty pale by comparison."

Edward Guthman of the San Francisco Chronicle stated, " nails one of the best roles of his career . . . directs with quiet affection and rare restraint."

Edvins Beitiks of the San Francisco Examiner said, "The good looks, sounds, sights and acting . . . owe a lot to director Stanley Tucci . . . Holm and Tucci are as brilliant in Secret as they were in Big Night . . . The cast is outstanding . . . but the movie belongs to Tucci and Gould with no room, really, for anyone else."