Not Fade AwayMovie Reviews

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Avg. Critic Score: 65 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
17 OK for kids 17+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 88
    Slant Magazine | Jaime N. Christley

    Triumphs when David Chase's empowerment as a kind of autobiographical historian is balanced with the thrill of submersing the viewer in the tidal pool of his memories Read full review

  • 80
    The Hollywood Reporter |

    The film may be too meandering for mainstream acceptance, but its focus will make the Paramount Vantage release connect directly with many baby boomers. It's also a warm, funny, poignant scrapbook that evokes a spirit of youth still relatable in later eras. Read full review

  • 75
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    Not Fade Away is a movie by a filmmaker who treasures his memories, cares about social history and relishes getting it right. Read full review

  • 75
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    His (Chase) ardent, acutely observed debut makes him, at 67, a filmmaker to watch. Read full review

  • 75
    Philadelphia Inquirer | Steven Rea

    Mostly, Not Fade Away is a hit. Read full review

  • 75
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    Not Fade Away is Chase's reward to himself - a transparently autobiographical work, his first feature-length film, and one that he's said he has wanted to make for years. Read full review

  • 63
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    The highlight of Not Fade Away, a meandering and bittersweet coming-of-age story, is its killer '60s pop-rock soundtrack. Read full review

  • 50
    NPR | Mark Jenkins

    Music drives the movie, and the producers popped for the real stuff: Robert Johnson, Moby Grape and - curiously - the Sex Pistols are all here. The soundtrack is so overstuffed that it relegates Beatles and Dylan tunes to the end credits. Read full review

  • 50
    Boston Globe | Ty Burr

    It's both achingly affectionate and a terrible mess. Read full review

  • 40
    New York Daily News | Joe Neumaier

    Mood is more important to Not Fade Away than anything, but writer-director David Chase, who turned mood into masterpiece with every season of "The Sopranos," allows nostalgic feeling to be the sole reason for this, his first feature film. Read full review

View more reviews for Not Fade Away on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 17+ '60s-set coming-of-age tale has some edgy content.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that Not Fade Away is an evocative but slow-moving coming-of-age movie from David Chase (creator of The Sopranos) about a young man growing up in the 1960s who tries to find himself through music. The soundtrack is great, and the story may appeal to older teens. Expect some swearing (including "f--k" and more), plus loads of period-accurate smoking (both cigarettes and pot) and drinking at parties -- all by teens. There's also a brief, intense scene depicting a couple having sex, though there's no complete nudity. 
  • Families can talk about how Not Fade Away depicts teen life in the 1960s. Is it relatable? Do the characters face similar issues to what teens deal with today?
  • Why does Douglas seem hostile to his parents (and vice versa)? Does this generational chasm still exist today, or was it played up for cinematic effect?
  • How does Not Fade Away compare to other coming-of-age films? How does it depict drinking and smoking? Does it glamorize them?
  • What does music mean to Douglas, and how does the changing musical landscape reflect the times?
The good stuff
  • message true3 Positive messages: Follow your dreams and be who you are, and don't expect success to come to you without putting in the hours.
  • rolemodels true2 Positive role models: Douglas is driven and works hard, and Grace, though a work-in-progress, ends up valuing herself and articulating her feelings and beliefs about being a young woman in the 1960s.
What to watch for
  • violence false2 Violence: A motorcycle accident results in one of the lead characters being bloodied and injured. A drug-addicted young woman is hauled away to rehab in a combative fashion. A couple has loud fights; in one of them, her boyfriend degrades her based on her sexual history and calls her names. A father and son tussle verbally and teeter on the edge of a physical fight. Two friends have a full-on fist fight, with one nearly choking another.
  • sex false3 Sexy stuff: A couple is shown seemingly naked or nearly naked on a couch, having sex. (No genitals are shown.) A man gropes a woman while making out. Men discuss what they did with the same woman -- they mention specific sex acts.
  • language false4 Language: Pretty much every bad word, including "f--k," "s--t," "damn," "bitch," "a--hole," and more. Also plenty of racist and homophobic terms from the time period, including "f----t" and the "N" word.
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Not an issue
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false4 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Lots of drinking (beer, hard liquor) and pot use (by teens), plus mentions of dropping acid. It's not particularly glamorized; it's just there. 
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