movie film review | chris tookey
 
     
     
 

Smashed

 (15)
© Sony Pictures Classics - all rights reserved
     
  Smashed Review
Tookey's Rating
5 /10
 
Average Rating
6.00 /10
 
Starring
Mary Elizabeth Winstead , Aaron Paul, Nick Offerman
Full Cast >
 

Directed by: James Ponsoldt
Written by: James Ponsoldt, Susan Burke

 
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Released: 2012
   
Genre: DRAMA
   
Origin: US
   
Colour: C
   
Length: 85
 
 


 
A star is sozzled.
Reviewed by Chris Tookey



Every so often, we are presented with a searing condemnation of the evils of alcohol. Famous examples include The Lost Weekend (1945), which won Ray Milland an Oscar, and Days of Wine and Roses (1962), for which Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick were nominated.

James Ponsoldt’s Smashed is a low-key, low-budget indie film along similar lines. The picture has a few more laughs than its earnest predecessors, but never rises quite far enough above the level of previous films that have done well at film festivals, only to spend a very short time in commercial cinemas.

It’s worth catching for the strong performance at its centre by Mary Elizabeth Winstead (pictured), who – if you are in the grip of a gambling addiction - must be a good outside bet to be nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars.


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