Synopsis
Four children in their attic hideaway make up a fantastic story, while downstairs their parents weave a drunken intrigue of their own.
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Cast
- John HawkesMartin Cantwell
- Molly ParkerDonna Cantwell
- Cody LinleyRyan
- Olivia HarrisMaggie Cantwell
- Jonathon McClendonChristian Cantwell
- Alexandra DokeJanie Cantwell
- Ian VetetoSam Cantwell
- Jonathan R. FreemanClark Knotts
- Lydia MackayNadia Knotts
Recommendations
- 90
The New York Times
The Playroom captures the malaise of mid-’70s suburbia with a merciless accuracy not seen since Ang Lee’s 1997 film, “The Ice Storm.” - 80
Village Voice
The Playroom jettisons all things cute, but still takes flight by portraying the characters, adult and juvenile, under direct lighting, and asking you if you care about them. - 70
The Hollywood Reporter
A rare example of a grown-up story compellingly told from the perspective of children, The Playroom is a modest gem. - 60
Time Out
The precedent for a movie like this is Ang Lee’s bruised "The Ice Storm," but whereas that film sprung from a novel that burns with indictment, Julia Dyer’s effort — scripted by her late sister, Gretchen — is a more open-ended affair and slightly unsatisfying for it. - 60
Los Angeles Times
The drama often feels posed and inert. Even so, it strikes more than a few chords as it digs deeper than period cliché. - 50
Slant Magazine
Lacking much in the way of character depth, the film attempts to fill the gap with melodrama. - 50
Variety
Although Dyer's sophomore feature clearly intends to capture the magical otherness of a child's p.o.v., nothing in her strangely aloof mise-en-scene or her late sister Gretchen's script yields anything more than a group of well-thesped, believable suburban kids upset by their parents' behavior. - 42
The A.V. Club
More than anything, The Playroom feels like an excuse to explore this retro house from a child’s point of view—which is perfectly okay, provided no one breaks the spell by talking.