74
Metascore
6 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoAn acid trip of a movie about a piece of Los Angeles history that exists no more: the Ambassador Hotel.
- 88TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghTV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghThe result is hypnotic.
- 80The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenIf there were more experimental films as entertaining as The Decay of Fiction, Pat O’Neill's luminous Hollywood ghost story, the notion of a thriving avant-garde cinema might not be so intimidating to the moviegoing public.
- 70Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumO'Neill showed in his 1989 "Water and Power" a poetic feeling for human evanescence in relation to southern California locales; here he proves equally astute at showing how our sense of history becomes tainted by and entangled with Hollywood myths.
- 70Village VoiceJ. HobermanVillage VoiceJ. HobermanThe Decay of Fiction is less a narrative than a monument. In its abstract movie-ness, this 74-minute carnival of souls exudes a wistful longing to connect, not so much with Hollywood history as with the history of that history.
- 60VarietyDeborah YoungVarietyDeborah YoungThe attention given to constructing each shot makes for a hypnotic visual experience, while lack of a progressive narrative telescopes film's running time into infinity.