Hey! A new John Sayles film!

“Snooty art-house critics like me sometimes rough up Sayles’ films, which don’t tend to be cinematically or dramatically adventurous and sometimes feel like they’re offering a predictable blend of progressive politics and Dickensian morality tale. (Silver City was somewhat of a snooze, for example, despite Chris Cooper’s memorable turn as a dimwitted, George W. Bush-like cardboard candidate.) Honestly, it’s time to get over that. Sayles’ movies almost always offer terrific casts, ample compassion, tremendous local color and an appetite for exploring the complexities of American life.” —Andrew O’Hehir

—On the other hand: “It needs to be electrifying, and instead, it’s a John Sayles movie.”