Although Chinatown writer Towne lovingly depicts the Depression-era LA setting (actually shot in South Africa), the film misfires.

| Jun 24, 2006

It is a odd-sounding, odd-looking piece of work, not uninteresting by any means, but there is something a little forced in both lead performances.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jun 3, 2006

The upshot is a careful, deliberately old-fashioned picture which has many admirable qualities.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 2, 2006

Like the desert beyond, the film is arid and airless.

| Original Score: 2/5 | May 23, 2006

Something is missing, though. The themes are all there, but the movie doesn't cross the blood-brain barrier and rev you up.

| May 12, 2006

Farrell and costar Salma Hayek have rarely been so affecting, or so effective, as self-hating ethnics who find love.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 30, 2006

Ask the Dust is one of the most eagerly awaited cinematic projects of 2006, which may be why it lands with such a curious thud.

| Mar 23, 2006

Ask the Dust requires an audience with a special love for film noir, with a feeling for the loneliness and misery of the writer, and with an understanding that any woman he meets will be beautiful.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 18, 2006

Whether or not you're familiar with John Fante, if you like novels, you'll like Ask the Dust.

| Original Score: B | Mar 18, 2006

... after an hour or so, Ask the Dust seems to have said everything, and the air starts to seep out of its hermetic atmosphere.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Mar 18, 2006

... not for all tastes but far from flavorless.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 18, 2006

[A] sexy, sensual, romantic, nostalgic adaptation of the novel ...

| Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 18, 2006

The fact is, there's something sadly lifeless about Ask the Dust.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Mar 17, 2006

As a film, Ask the Dust is uneven; as a labor of love, it's a beauty.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 17, 2006

Farrell isn't living up to his hype. He's inheriting the mantle from Andy Garcia as the world's oldest promising newcomer.

| Original Score: 0.5/4 | Mar 17, 2006

Fante would never approve, governed as he was by a crushing fear of phoniness.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Mar 17, 2006

It is to the credit of Towne and his cast ... that Ask the Dust is able to convey Fante's passion without making it seem affected.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 17, 2006

What gives Ask the Dust its quiet vitality -- beyond Farrell's muscular yet delicate portrayal -- is the fear of failing to grasp the brass ring that appears through much of the movie.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 17, 2006

What's surprising about the new film's vapid emptiness is that Towne also wrote the screenplay. And the writing is the film's central problem.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Mar 16, 2006

It isn't until the very end that somebody finally does ask the dust a question, and there's so much talking in this movie that it's a miracle the dust doesn't reply.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Mar 16, 2006