55
Metascore
19 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70VarietyDennis HarveyVarietyDennis HarveyNot everything here works, including some lead casting. But this daylight noir should please viewers willing to roll along with a crime meller more interested in character quirks than action thrills.
- 68TheWrapSteve PondTheWrapSteve PondWhile it’s hard to watch Arkansas and not see its debt to the Coen brothers, Duke finds a voice of his own in quiet, deadpan absurdities and southern-fried eccentricities.
- 67The Film StageJared MobarakThe Film StageJared MobarakThe film bills itself as a suspense thriller due to the predicament Kyle and Swin must eventually try to escape, but it works best as a comedy using that narrative drama to entertain regardless of the stakes.
- 67The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayWhile Arkansas is a promising and often very entertaining first feature, Duke doesn’t combine these borrowed ingredients—excellent though they are—into a fully realized original story, with its own personality.
- 63Slant MagazineDavid RobbSlant MagazineDavid RobbThe film’s insistence on keeping the stakes low throughout is probably its key strength.
- 60Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversWhat does matter, besides the collection of deranged characters who can’t escape their limitations, is the southern-fried atmosphere so resonantly captured by DP Steven Meizler (Contagion).
- 50Chicago TribuneKatie WalshChicago TribuneKatie WalshArkansas doesn't break the mold on cheeky, stylish, low-life movies; rather, it worships it.
- 50RogerEbert.comSimon AbramsRogerEbert.comSimon AbramsThat kind of gallow’s humor defines the surface tone of Arkansas, which often feels like a riff on “Breaking Bad,” only now it’s more about how sad it is to be poor white trash.
- 40The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeDespite some promising moments, the project never quite takes flight, partly thanks to mismatched performances that don't seem to agree on how quirky this film intends to be.
- 25San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonSan Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonMost of Arkansas — Duke’s home state, by the way — just falls flat, despite individual scenes here and there that work.