69
Metascore
12 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88RogerEbert.comOdie HendersonRogerEbert.comOdie HendersonThe Outside Story is barely 85 minutes long, but Henry's performance is rich enough to make this small film feel rather epic.
- 78Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovAustin ChronicleMarc SavlovIt’s a slight film, really a seriocomic tone poem about the absurdities and obstacles we can create for ourselves even when our intentions are for the best, but it brims with ordinary everyday good cheer and feels like just the right movie at just the right time.
- 75Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreCharles stuck “Outside” reminds us not just that we’re not alone, no matter how much we want to be, and that in the Big City, the biggest journey can be one of just a few steps on foot crossing a chasm you’ve built in your own head.
- 75The PlaylistRobert DanielsThe PlaylistRobert DanielsThough the delightful ensemble allows this slight comedy to bob along, it’s Henry who steers this ship into gentle waters. He imbues Charles’ substantial reawakening with great tenderness.
- 70Film ThreatAlex SavelievFilm ThreatAlex SavelievA warm hug of a film, The Outside Story may occasionally stumble and resemble an extended TV pilot, but – largely thanks to its charming protagonist – is bound to (however briefly) reaffirm your faith in humanity.
- 70Screen RantMae AbdulbakiScreen RantMae AbdulbakiWhile the pacing dawdles just a bit in a few places, The Outside Story is an unexpectedly warm film that asks its audience to engage with their own surroundings in the hopes that they, like Charles, might find something worthwhile.
- 68Paste MagazinePaste MagazineWere Nozkowski’s debut not blessed with Henry’s ridiculous acting abilities and the film’s constellation of warm sentiments, it would have collapsed into an unexamined chasm of its own social pitfalls.
- 58IndieWireKate ErblandIndieWireKate ErblandIt’s charming enough, although flashes of flinty humor hint at something edgier underneath. Henry, capable of bringing deep emotion to even small parts (“If Beale Street Could Talk”), often finds unexpected grace notes.
- 40The New York TimesTeo BugbeeThe New York TimesTeo BugbeeThe film, which was written and directed by Casimir Nozkowski, sets an easy pace to match Charles’s mild ennui. The only problem is that the movie doesn’t supplement its lack of stakes with style or substance.