61
Metascore
20 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumDirector Sérgio Machado, who worked as an assistant to Central Station's Walter Salles, lingers sensually over every wrong move his attractive tragic trio make.
- 75New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoThe impressive first feature by Sergio Machado, a one-time assistant to Walter Salles ("The Motorcycle Diaries"), is a trip through a grungy world of crime, sex and cockfights.
- 70VarietyDeborah YoungVarietyDeborah YoungThough the storyline is dirt simple and not particularly meaningful or involving, the action in this character-driven film is scintillatingly sexy.
- 70The New YorkerAnthony LaneThe New YorkerAnthony LaneIn the end, Lower City is never quite as energetic as it wants to be, touched by the strange, milky lethargy that steeps every waterfront film.
- 70SalonAndrew O'HehirSalonAndrew O'HehirDespite the lurid content, this is a beautifully made film that reaches for moral seriousness and resists facile judgments.
- 50Village VoiceMichael AtkinsonVillage VoiceMichael AtkinsonA bone-tired tale underneath.
- 50The New York TimesDana StevensThe New York TimesDana StevensThe movie turns out to be a predictable and somewhat sentimental lower-depths love triangle, but Ms. Braga almost makes it work.
- 50New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanMachado establishes a realistically seamy environment for his erotic triangle, and there are some surprisingly tender moments amid the squalor.
- 50TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghTV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghThe story wears thin long before it's over, but Machado draws strong performances from his leads and makes excellent use of its rundown locations.
- 50L.A. WeeklyElla TaylorL.A. WeeklyElla TaylorThis frenetic potboiler about a love triangle on the Salvador waterfront smacks of liberal slumming and bristles with faux authenticity.