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Avg. Critic Score: 77 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
16 Iffy for 16+
Read Common Sense Media review

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

  • 100
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    Pollock is confident, insightful work--one of the year's best films. Read full review

  • 90
    Variety |

    Distinguished by its quiet, intelligent, admirably restrained approach and by two finely wrought performances from Harris and Marcia Gay Harden in the leading roles. Read full review

  • 88
    Boston Globe | Jay Carr

    Like its subject, Pollock is a messy creation, but one whose depth of commitment and high attack keeps it on track. Read full review

  • 80
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    Ed Harris, who plays Pollock and makes his debut as a director - doing both jobs superbly, by the way - is angst incarnate. Read full review

  • 80
    Los Angeles Times | Kenneth Turan

    Stands out among creative bio-pics for an ability to show art being made in a way that's as realistic and exciting as it's ever been on screen. Read full review

  • 80
    The New York Times | Stephen Holden

    May be the first movie about a painter to transcend the gushy clichés found in movies that try to unravel the mysteries of artistic creation. Read full review

  • 75
    San Francisco Chronicle | Wesley Morris

    Renders the juicy bits of the artist's life in two hours of pulsing highlights that suggest a man who never really had any emotional or psychic downtime. Read full review

  • 75
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    For all the praise that has been heaped upon it, is a quasisatisfying, half realized vision. Read full review

  • 70
    Wall Street Journal | Joe Morgenstern

    Several startling depictions of the artist at work make you forget, if only temporarily, the serious shortcomings of the script. Read full review

  • 63
    USA Today | Mike Clark

    The movie falls short of achieving its apparent goal: being the "Raging Bull" of the art world. Read full review

View more reviews for Pollock on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 16+ Wonderful movie, but for adults and older teens.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this movie contains a lot of mature material, including very strong language and sexual references and situations. A highly unsatisfactory sexual encounter between Pollock and Guggenheim is shown fairly explicitly. Characters drink, smoke, abuse drugs, and engage in self-destructive behavior. Pollock's drunk driving with the passengers screaming is shown, though not the crash that killed him. Family members treat each other badly, which may be upsetting for some viewers.
  • Families can talk about why people become passionate about art and how art is affected by the surrounding commerce and culture. Why did Krasner give up her own art to take care of Pollock? Why were the views of Guggenheim and Greenberg so important? Why aren't Pollock's paintings just considered scribbles? Are there any painters today who are as important a part of the cultural landscape as Pollock was when he was featured in Life Magazine? Or are our new cultural icons working in different mediums?
What to watch for
  • violence false2 Violence: Scary drunken car ride, fatal crash (offscreen).
  • sex false4 Sex: Sexual references and situations, brief but explicit sexual encounter.
  • language false4 Language: Very strong language.
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Not an issue
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false4 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Severe.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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