The Devil's Own - Reception

Reception

The Devil's Own received mixed reviews from critics and currently holds a 29% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 34 reviews and 53/100 based on 26 reviews on Metacritic.

Roger Ebert gave the film (2½ stars out of 4), saying the film showed "ignorance of the history of Northern Ireland" and that "the issues involved between the two sides are never mentioned". The review also criticised the contrived plot stating "The moral reasoning in the film is so confusing that only by completely sidestepping it can the plot work at all." The performances given by both Brad Pitt and Harrison Ford attracted praise however, with Roger complimenting that the pair "...are enormously appealing and gifted actors, and to the degree that the movie works, it's because of them."

James Berardinelli gave the film (2½ stars out of 4), saying:

"For much of its running length, The Devil's Own works as a passable thriller. Certain plot elements (including many of the details surrounding the missile deal) border on preposterous, but that often goes with the territory in films of this genre. The best parts of The Devil's Own are the quiet moments, such as when Frankie and Tom are talking, or when Tom is spending time with his family. There's also an effective subplot that forces Tom to examine his moral outlook on life when his partner (Ruben Blades) accidentally shoots a fleeing suspect in the back. Unfortunately, The Devil's Own goes downhill fast in the final half hour. Suddenly, it's as if every significant character in the film has undergone a frontal lobotomy. Otherwise-intelligent men start doing extremely stupid things, and the entire "dumbing-down" process becomes frustrating to observe. The final scenes are solid, but the stuff that leads up to them is a problem." Janet Maslin called it an "unexpectedly solid thriller" with a "first-rate, madly photogenic performance" by Pitt; she notes that it is "directed by Alan J. Pakula in a thoughtful urban style that recalls the vintage New York stories of Sidney Lumet" and "handsomely photographed by Gordon Willis". Richard Schickel called it "quite a good movie—a character-driven (as opposed to whammy-driven) suspense drama—dark, fatalistic and, within its melodramatically stretched terms, emotionally plausible"; he said Pakula "develops his story patiently, without letting its tensions unravel." Entertainment Weekly gave it a "B+," calling it a "quiet, absorbing, shades-of-gray drama, a kind of thriller meditation on the schism in Northern Ireland."

A reviewer for Salon.com called it a "a disjointed, sluggish picture" with a problematic script that "bears the marks of tinkering": "swatches of the story appear to be missing, relationships aren't clearly defined, and characters aren't identified." Variety said "whatever contortions the script went through on its way to the result, Pakula has managed to maintain an admirable concentration on the central moral equation, which posits the Irish terrorist's understandable political and emotional motivations for revenge versus the decent cop's sense of justice and the greater human good."

The film was a box office success, making $43 million in the USA and $97 million overseas which made a worldwide gross of $140 million, beating its $90 million budget.