- Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly, September 07, 2011
At times attractive, at other times dull.
- , Film4, February 08, 2010
The performances are overwhelmed by cinematography so gorgeous and distracting it makes the drama seem like just so much wheel spinning.
- Lisa Alspector, Chicago Reader, February 08, 2010
It's all plinky-plink pianos and mewing oboes, trying to jerk those tears a little too hard. No, a lot too hard. The music is awful. Stupendously bad.
- Eric Brace, Washington Post, February 08, 2010
Based on a play by Scott McPherson's who died of AIDS, it's impossible to watch the well-acted film (particularly Diane Keaton, who should get an Oscar nod) without thinking of its themees: the various approaches to love and the strength of family bonds
- Emanuel Levy, Variety, December 26, 2006
Streep gives her most credible blue-collar performance to date; Keaton sidesteps saintliness to mix vulnerability and small heroics.
- Wally Hammond, Time Out, June 24, 2006
Powerhouse casting and a heartbreaking history make the screen version of Marvin's Room more memorable than it otherwise would be.
- Janet Maslin, New York Times, May 20, 2003
Any movie with Meryl Streep is an occasion, but when you add Diane Keaton, Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Hume Cronyn and Gwen Verdon, you've got an embarrassment of riches.
- Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle, June 18, 2002
- , Globe and Mail, April 12, 2002
There is a core of substance in Marvin's Room, and persuasive acting to back it up. Which makes it a special pity that the filmmakers didn't trust viewers to have the necessary intelligence to figure that out for themselves.
- Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times, February 14, 2001
What begins as an apparently simple tale of sibling interaction reveals a complex web of pain, guilt, and uncertainty.
- James Berardinelli, ReelViews, January 01, 2000
Streep and Keaton, in their different styles, find ways to make Lee and Bessie into much more than the expression of their problems.
- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times, January 01, 2000
Marvin's Room seems to exist primarily to road-test every one of your emotions.
- Desson Thomson, Washington Post, January 01, 2000
- Susan Stark, Detroit News, January 01, 2000
Great actors do what they can in a simple and largely unaffecting story.
- Bob McCabe, Empire Magazine, January 01, 2000
An emotionally fulfilling film with wonderful, uplifting elements.
- Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile, January 01, 2000
Now and then, a scene will hit you in the gut, such as when Streep restyles Keaton's chemo wig. When sentiment is this honest, it's not hard to swallow.
- , USA Today, January 01, 2000
- , Entertainment Weekly, December 20, 1996
