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3 Backyards

Play trailer Poster for 3 Backyards R 2011 1h 27m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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76% Tomatometer 17 Reviews 31% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
An executive (Elias Koteas), a housewife (Edie Falco) and a youngster (Rachel Resheff) spend a curious day in their suburban town.

Critics Reviews

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Bruce Diones The New Yorker Mendelsohn's dialogue is, for the most part, as spare as poetry, and the three stories are woven together masterfully and acquire a gleaming aura that's almost pastoral. Mar 14, 2011 Full Review Stephen Holden New York Times Little is left to chance, and every detail contributes to a tightly schematic, microcosmic poetic concept. Rated: 4/5 Mar 11, 2011 Full Review Lou Lumenick New York Post Well-acted and acutely observed, the sort of cerebral fare you can more typically find on HBO than in theaters these days. Rated: 2.5/4 Mar 11, 2011 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com This dark, well-acted suburban tale is follow-up to the gifted Mendleson's most promising feature debut Rated: B Jul 28, 2011 Full Review Beth Accomando KPBS.org And although Mendelsohn maintains a certain cool detachment, he also allows the film to occasionally soar in unexpected ways. Jun 24, 2011 Full Review Tricia Olszewski Washington City Paper Mendelsohn may believe he's presenting an unvarnished look at middle-class America, but if these kinds of people exist, you won't recognize them. Apr 8, 2011 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member This is one of my favorite movies. I think it should be shown to students who want to make film their careers. It's like a Picasso painting, one person will see it and find it uninteresting, while others like myself find it absolutely brilliant. Yes brilliant! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Audience Member Unnecessarily cryptic. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member Slow-moving, disjointed and pointless. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Terrible film. I want that hour and a half back... Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member The stories were good, but all together I didn't know what to do with them or how to feel... Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review walter m "3 Backyards" starts with John(Elias Koteas) having a staring contest with his wife(Kathryn Erbe) at 3:30 am before he leaves to catch a flight that turns out to be canceled. He's not the only one leaving town as an actress(Embeth Davidtz) asks her neighbor Peggy(Edie Falco) for a ride to the Port Jefferson Ferry. And because she is just a kid, Christina(Rachel Resheff) has to go to school, even though she just missed the school bus. The thing I like most about "3 Backyards" are its moments of silence that not only allow the actors to take control but also say more than any of the dialogue does. What the movie comes tantalizingly close to depicting is the emptiness of suburban lives, as the distance between people only allows them to watch each other, not connect.(There is one moment of dislocation that is probably more accidental than anything else.) However, none of that is as interesting as it sounds here, as the movie lacks anything in the way of well-defined characters. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
3 Backyards

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Cast & Crew

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Eric Mendelsohn

Director

Embeth Davidtz

The Actress

Edie Falco

Peggy

Elias Koteas

John

Rachel Resheff

Christina

Kathryn Erbe

John's Wife

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3 Backyards

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Movie Info

Synopsis An executive (Elias Koteas), a housewife (Edie Falco) and a youngster (Rachel Resheff) spend a curious day in their suburban town.
Director
Eric Mendelsohn
Producer
Rocco Caruso, Amy Durning, Eric Mendelsohn
Screenwriter
Eric Mendelsohn
Distributor
Screen Media Films
Production Co
Caruso / Mendelsohn Productions
Rating
R (A Scene of Sexual Content)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 11, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jun 28, 2011
Runtime
1h 27m