66
Metascore
16 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 82TheWrapYolanda MachadoTheWrapYolanda MachadoA unique take on one of the most painful and important parts of being human, the film is original and honest. Even knowing very little about the traditions of Hasidic Judaism, it was easy to relate to the very human element of finding a connection that ultimately leads to healing.
- 75Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreSnyder and co-writer Jason Begue paint a delightful alternative portrait of Hasidism and its practioners, going beyond the rituals and beyond respectful mockery, showing us foul-mouthed kids and an insular world clumsily at odds with the culture they’ve settled in.
- 75RogerEbert.comRogerEbert.comReligion can provide some solace, but it can also complicate matters. Science can explain the natural processes, but even then, it cannot account for every detail in every situation. To Dust is about those contradictions and, in the end, about the ultimate one: that, to some questions, the only logical and spiritual answer is that there isn't one — except whatever we make of it.
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperChicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperDirected and co-written by Shawn Snyder, To Dust is a dark but not bleak comedy, an oddly effective love story and also a classic buddy movie, albeit presented within a framework I don’t we’ve ever seen before in the genre. It’s also lovely and offbeat and kind of wonderful.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeWith matter-of-fact Jewish wit, it accepts these beliefs as the story's ground rules, understanding that Shmuel won't make peace with his wife's death until he finds some way of reconciling his ideas with physical realities. If only all conflicts between religion and observable facts came to ends as satisfying as this film does.
- 70Screen DailyDavid D'ArcyScreen DailyDavid D'ArcyIf tenderness is deployed to ease Shmuel’s grieving, those are not the scenes which give To Dust its special pungency, or what make you laugh. This film is at its best when it goes for the gut.
- 70Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleLos Angeles TimesRobert AbeleThe movie could use a little more energy — this is Paul Mazursky territory, after all, not Andrei Tarkovsky — but in its sick-but-sweet attempt to reclaim grief from the trappings of tradition, To Dust is its own well-measured godsend.
- 63Washington PostMichael O'SullivanWashington PostMichael O'SullivanThere’s something in the relationship between these two partnerless men — their yearning for connection — that feels, beneath the jokes, very real and very recognizable.
- 60The New York TimesWesley MorrisThe New York TimesWesley MorrisYou can see what this movie is after, something cockeyed but sincere, something in the neighborhood of Paul Mazursky, Elaine May or Alexander Payne. But the writing and filmmaking (Snyder directed) just aren’t quick enough.
- 60New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinNew York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinThe mournful comedy To Dust has a sicko premise, but scrupulously sicko.