Storytelling

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Storytelling

R

Released Jan 25, 2002

1h 28m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

54%

Tomatometer

91 Reviews

67%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

"Storytelling" is comprised of two separate stories set against the sadly comical terrain of college and high school, past and present. Following the paths of its young hopeful/troubled characters, it explores issues of sex, race, celebrity and exploitation. This movie is divided into a fiction and non-fiction part.

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Critics Consensus

Todd Solondz's Storytelling boasts an audacious narrative structure, but fails to deliver on the mechanics of its namesake, yielding a creative exercise that is more interested in satisfying the author's interests than the audience's investment.

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Empire Magazine

Rated: 3/5

Dec 30, 2006

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Andrew Sarris

Observer

Despite [Solondz's] undeniable talent, however manipulative, his stories are too sour and mean-spirited for my taste.

Mar 13, 2002

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Eric Harrison

Houston Chronicle

That Storytelling has value cannot be denied. Not even Solondz's thirst for controversy, sketchy characters and immature provocations can fully succeed at cheapening it.

Rated: B+

Feb 24, 2002

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Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

There’s more than enough reason to see "Storytelling," even in the less impressive second chapter, but perhaps Solondz has drawn water from this poisoned well one time too many.

Rated: A-

Sep 17, 2022

Full Review

Jan Stuart

The Advocate

[A] ribald and welcome work of social commentary.

Jun 1, 2022

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Ryan Cracknell

Movie Views

While Solondz tries and tries hard, Storytelling fails to provide much more insight than the inside column of a torn book jacket.

Dec 19, 2010

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Geke g

Character’s development is on another level

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/11/24

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Bahad j

This idea of the film shooting technique director made the film more attractive to people.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/11/24

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Sol B

One of my favorite movies. Brilliant and memorable.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/06/23

Full Review

Steve D

Self congratulatory and pointless.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

Full Review

Dave S

A Todd Solondz movie can be challenging at the best of times. Storytelling is no exception. The movie consists of two short films, both related to the creative process and the sometimes unorthodox or unethical path to success. "Fiction" is about a young woman (Selma Blair) who aspires to be a novelist and documents the efforts she is willing to make to validate her talent. "Non-Fiction" features Paul Giamatti as a filmmaker who is shooting a documentary about a highly dysfunctional family who are destined for unimaginable tragedy, thereby guaranteeing the success of his efforts. Storytelling has all of the stylistic flourishes that make a film a distinctly Solondz movie, but where it falters is the brevity of the two pieces, not allowing for any kind of in-depth character development, ultimately giving the whole thing a bit of an empty feeling. It's not a bad movie by any means – it's just sort of unfulfilling.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

10/16/23

Full Review

jordan m

I struggled to find either storyline particularly compelling and found myself searching for what exactly it was about this movie that had led to its relatively lofty position among indie movies from 2001. The actors did their jobs well but the two storylines not intersecting each other just made them both feel incomplete in some way. By far the biggest highlight for me was the little kid in the non-fiction part; they did a great job using him to characterize the rest of the family and the child actor was effectively obnoxious.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Robert Wisdom

Mr. Scott

Noah Fleiss

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Synopsis

"Storytelling" is comprised of two separate stories set against the sadly comical terrain of college and high school, past and present. Following the paths of its young hopeful/troubled characters, it explores issues of sex, race, celebrity and exploitation. This movie is divided into a fiction and non-fiction part.

Director: Todd Solondz
Producer: Ted Hope, Christine Vachon
Screenwriter: Todd Solondz
Distributor: Fine Line Features
Production Co: Good Machine, Killer Films
Rating: R (Some Drug Use|Language|Strong Sexual Content)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 25, 2002, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 1, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $912.4K
Runtime: 1h 28m
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Surround, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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