Though it runs slow at times, Down To The Bone showed more the emotional dehabilitation rather than the obvious physical ware drugs took on a small town mom...

| Original Score: A- | Sep 12, 2017

The movie boasts a fantastic performance by Vera Farmiga and an exceedingly unhappy storyline. It's a movie you "appreciate" more than you "enjoy."

| Original Score: B | Nov 11, 2006

The movie takes us down an unexpected path with riveting skill and a refreshing lack of easy answers.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | May 26, 2006

The movie seems to be about drug addiction and recovery, but it gradually shifts, becoming a look from an unusual angle at what a big job it is to be a parent and the priorities it requires.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 16, 2006

Farmiga effectively shows the fear, need and hope at war within Irene, how the false high of being clean for a week can fade when she realizes the second week isn't going to be any easier.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Mar 9, 2006

Strong performances from Vera Farmiga and Hugh Dillon keep things from becoming overdramatic.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jan 9, 2006

If there were an ounce of taste left in Hollywood, the magnificent Vera Farmiga would be a front-runner for the Best Actress Oscar.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 6, 2006

The film is so pitch perfect and realistic, it seems you are there with these people, watching their lives unfold before you as it happens.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Dec 16, 2005

if you've ever wondered why people in 12-step programs aren't supposed to sleep together right off the bat, well, this movie is about to show you, in detail.

Full Review | Dec 15, 2005

A quietly harrowing chronicle of addiction and fragile recovery anchored by Vera Farmiga's intense performance.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Dec 6, 2005

Vera Farmiga gives an astonishing performance in this complex chronicle of a drug addict who goes through rehab, yearning for redemption, but her experience is not tidy and there's no neat conclusion.

| Original Score: B+ | Dec 2, 2005

This marks [Farmiga's] arrival as One to Watch. See her here, and you can say you remember the early days.

| Original Score: A- | Dec 2, 2005

Down to the Bone achieves what only the best independent films have: making life, at its most unvarnished, a journey.

| Original Score: A | Nov 30, 2005

Conventional movies, even independent ones, tend to get histrionic and judgmental about such drug-related setbacks. But Granik's film, though hardly a clinical case study, keeps a measured distance from the heavy-handed or simplistic.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 28, 2005

... a harrowing character study.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 28, 2005

[A] small, beautifully faceted gem.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 28, 2005

... a stark, realistic portrait of a working-class mother in New York's depressed Ulster County as she tries to battle a drug habit.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Nov 28, 2005

Down to the Bone emerges with an aura of authenticity so strong as to be mesmerizing, thanks to a superior script brought to life with infallibly natural performances ...

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 28, 2005

Debra Granik's independent drama "Down to the Bone" builds with a strong, quiet intensity.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 28, 2005

A glimpse into the private lives and dirty secrets of people trying to claw their way to a better place.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 25, 2005