As I Lay Dying

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As I Lay Dying

R

2013

1h 50m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

37%

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27 Reviews

36%

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2,500+ Ratings

Strife and disaster befall a poor Mississippi family during a two-day trip by horse and wagon to bury their deceased matriarch.

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Critics Consensus

As I Lay Dying finds director, star, and co-writer James Franco attempting to adapt one of William Faulkner's weightier works, with disappointingly muddled results.

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Justin Stewart

Film Comment Magazine

A qualified, perfectly respectable success

Nov 4, 2013

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Kyle Smith

New York Post

I don't pretend to have a clue how to adapt William Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying" for the screen, but unlike James Franco, I, at least, didn't try.

Rated: 1.5/4

Oct 11, 2013

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A.O. Scott

New York Times

As a whole ... "As I Lay Dying" conveys some of Faulkner's themes, and the details of the Bundren family story, with clarity and concision.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 10, 2013

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Asia Frey

Lagniappe (Mobile, AL)

James Franco continues his aggressive campaign to make everyone hate him, despite his roguish good looks, with a film adaptation of William Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying."

Aug 22, 2018

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Matt Donato

We Got This Covered

As I Lay Dying tries to adapt the impossible, but unfortunately it is bested by Faulkner's weighty source material.

Rated: 5/10

Nov 10, 2013

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Witney Seibold

CraveOnline

Both brilliant and maddening

Rated: 7.5/10

Oct 30, 2013

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dave s

James Franco is to be commended for his attempt at a film adaptation of William Faulkner's unadaptable novel As I Lay Dying. While the film is essentially faithful to the source material, this may not be a good thing considering the complexity of the source material. While the film has its powerful moments, it too often gets caught up in the characters' monologues, which work in the book but are awkward in the movie as characters stare into the camera while reciting stream of consciousness dialogue. The film is also hurt by Franco's choice to use the split screen technique, which only serves as an annoying distraction. Despite the negatives, the performance of Tim Blake Nelson as the patriarch is phenomenal.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

I love Faulkner and I didn't think "it"--a film of this book--could be done. Well, it has been done and it is a pleasure. Perhaps only for those who appreciate Faulkner, given the negative response, but one of the best films I have seen in a long while.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

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Audience Member

The movie captures the book so well. If you've lived a life that's related it will chill you to the bone with realism.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/05/19

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Audience Member

Great movie! The acting of Tim Blake Nelson as Anse Bundren was phenomenal. It deserved at least an Oscar nomination. But I guess the Oscars are not into these themes.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/03/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Not royalty - not gods- not Heroes. Instead a common southern farming family embarks on what becomes an epic tragic odyssey to bury Their mother and wife, Addie Burden. Things go badly until they become worse. Over the course of this slow burn we begin to get a clearer and clearer picture of the patriarch behind this ill conceived venture. How do you express the complex and rich musings of people with limited verbal ability? He has figured this out. Watch it twice When you know what a character does you can make better sense of what is crossing his face the 2 nd time round

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

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Audience Member

Pretty good for an impossible task. Tim Blake Nelson is divine.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/29/18

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James Franco

Director

James Franco

Darl Bundren

Tim Blake Nelson

Anse

Logan Marshall-Green

Jewel

Jim Parrack

Cash

Ahna O'Reilly

Dewey Dell

As I Lay Dying: Official Clip - Losing a Leg

1:36

As I Lay Dying: Official Clip - Fire

1:39

As I Lay Dying: Official Clip - Fording the River

2:12

As I Lay Dying: Official Clip - Leaving to Work

1:48

As I Lay Dying: Official Clip - He's Crazy

2:15

As I Lay Dying: Official Clip - The Lord Giveth

1:27

As I Lay Dying: Official Clip - She's Gone

2:09

As I Lay Dying: Official Clip - Sin

2:05

As I Lay Dying: Official Clip - Sold the Horse

2:12

As I Lay Dying: Official Clip - Darl's Arrest

2:13

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Synopsis

Strife and disaster befall a poor Mississippi family during a two-day trip by horse and wagon to bury their deceased matriarch.

Director: James Franco
Producer: Lee Caplin, Matt O'Toole, Robert Van Norden, Caroline Aragon, Miles Levy, Vince Jolivette
Screenwriter: James Franco, Matt Rager
Distributor: Millennium Entertainment
Production Co: Picture Entertainment Corporation
Rating: R (Some Sexual Content|Disturbing Images|Brief Nudity)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 11, 2013, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 22, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $15.0K
Runtime: 1h 50m

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