58
Metascore
33 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisMore than anything else, Ask the Dust feels like a compendium of desires - for a city, for a woman, for youth.
- 75The A.V. ClubScott TobiasThe A.V. ClubScott TobiasAsk The Dust may find Towne a little past his prime, but after so much time in the Hollywood wilderness, it's good to see him trying again.
- 75Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerChristian Science MonitorPeter RainerAsk the Dust does manage to cast a spell. The film is not only an evocation of a bygone era but an emanation of it as well.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenThe Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenThe film is faithful to the book's tone of dark ache and much of its detail and for the most part terrifically cast. But Towne can't overcome an essential challenge of the material: Arturo and Camilla are constructs and ciphers as much as they are vivid characters -- difficult roles, to be sure. Neither the screenplay nor the actors manage to get far under their skin.
- 70L.A. WeeklyScott FoundasL.A. WeeklyScott FoundasWhat seduces most about Ask the Dust isn't its verisimilitude, but its gloriously old-fashioned backlot sheen - the L.A. of old Hollywood movies and of our collective fantasies.
- 63Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversThe film, which is literary to a fault, includes an earthquake, but if the earth moves at all, thank Hayek, who gives the tale a smoldering life that finally lifts it from the page.
- 60New York Magazine (Vulture)New York Magazine (Vulture)Something is missing, though. The themes are all there, but the movie doesn't cross the blood-brain barrier and rev you up.
- 60VarietyTodd McCarthyVarietyTodd McCarthyHighlighted by a strong and sensual performance from Salma Hayek as the doomed heroine, elegant pic's muted quality and the central character's vexingly contrary behavior will keep auds from connecting with characters who themselves have trouble establishing bonds.
- 50TimeRichard CorlissTimeRichard CorlissAsk the Dust is the ghost of a cult novel; it can't bring itself to life.
- 25Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanThe movie lacks even the misplaced fervor of obsession. It's lifeless kitsch.