The film ends up being about whether she'll land on her feet, when what we really want to see is whether she can stand tall.

| Original Score: C+ | Feb 4, 2021

This is a warm, perceptive film of everyday life, free of epic tragedy, yet it reveals the courage it can take to strike out on one's own and to take charge of one's own destiny.

| Feb 4, 2021

The tempo is slow and dreamy, but the flavor is rich, and it lasts.

| Feb 4, 2021

Nunez is a major filmmaker who thrives working in a minor key. He makes Ruby a romantic fable with a tough core of intelligence and wit. It's a real beauty.

| Feb 4, 2021

Judd is well cast as the small town gal looking to start afresh and gain her independence in this chick flick about learning who you are.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 4, 2021

After an eight-year layoff from filmmaking after A Flash of Green, Victor Nunez has returned with a film of gentle, intelligent qualities, vividly portraying a young woman's inner life.

| Mar 26, 2009

You know there's truth in these drab small-town lives, but, regrettably, there's little drama or humour to sustain interest in Ruby's vague musings on her bleak search for paradise.

| Feb 9, 2006

"Ruby in Paradise" is more often pensive than genuinely thoughtful, but it is helped immensely by Ms. Judd's gravity and strength.

| May 20, 2003

A character portrait of both Ruby and her coastal Florida panhandle environment, Ruby in Paradise has an amazing presence.

| Jan 1, 2000

Ruby in Paradise is a wonderful, life-affirming movie about a young woman who has that kind of luck. It's a celebration of heart, courage and persistence.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Jan 1, 2000