Raetsonwe Redundant and unnecessary.

Borserie it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

Robert Joyner The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

FloodClearwater When it comes to filmmaking actor-director Josh Radnor is either lucky or very, very good.In Liberal Arts he gives us a satisfying story of chaste infatuation between two compelling people who don't belong in the same space and who, following societal mores, ought to know better. Radnor stars as the male lead,"Jesse," a 35 year old alum of a pretty, bucolic liberal arts college somewhere in 'wholesome Ohio.' The faculty throw a festschrift for Jesse's favorite old professor, and he's invited to give remarks, and travels in for a weekend. Where he meets Elizabeth Olsen's "Zibby," a 19 year old student replete with a dorm room, put-out roommate, paper latte cup, and head full of searching thoughts. Zibby, as Olsen creates her, is more Lolita than Anne of Green Gables, or so things seem. An 'old soul', an 'advanced student' of ideal relationships with men, Olsen's character is devastatingly magnetic, both for Jessee and the audience. Jesse and Zibby meet, they create (but carefully do not ignite from) sparks, they discuss music, writing, reading, as the story builds toward what the audience expects will be a torrid mutual spellbound co-ravishment. Both actors reward the close-in camera work Radnor selects for many of their minutes on screen together. The story ends as it should end.Adding appreciable interest to the film are Allison Janney, Richard Jenkins, and Zac Efron. Janney and Jenkins in particular score small soliloquistic moments about life, ageing, and happiness, and they deliver focused punches of emotional color without overstepping their marks of support. Efron plays a campus fool-osopher expertly.Have you visited a college campus on a fair day, and found that just-off campus bar or diner, ventured inside, found the lighting and wood paneling and servers to be charming, ordered some comfort food, say a patty melt or a shrimp taco, plunged teeth in, and felt that feeling of escape, into the innocence and simple comforts of university life? That moment is what this film feels like once the credits roll.If this is how Radnor makes films, Radnor should get to make all the films he wants.

perkypops A bright, refreshing, snappy script promises an evening of good cinema, but, unfortunately it doesn't last. The premise of an opportune romance between a nineteen year old and thirty five year old has been done several times over but here Olsen is convincing as a young women who wants to explore and be curious. For a while this film is willing to explore its own promise freely and with stylish brushstrokes, but then somewhere, around the middle the plot takes a rather clumsy detour and goes into standard fair mode.It isn't all bad, but it is a pity an opportunity to really dig deep into age gap romance is thrown away in preference to hackneyed story lines and the snap disappears.Five out of ten made up mostly of a good performance by Ms Olsen and her flatmate.

studioAT I wasn't a big fan of Josh Radnor's TV show 'How I met your mother' but upon reading a review of this film there was something that made me want to put that to one side and watch this film.Liberal Arts isn't like most Rom-com's you see these days. It's slower and more talky but when a big laugh comes along it certainly is a big laugh. The concept behind this film may not be new but the delivery and approach of it is.With Radnor on good form as the likable Jesse and rising star Elizabeth Olsen shining in every scene this film is an enjoyable one and is both thought-provoking and funny at the same time. When you can get people like Zac Efron, Richard Jenkins and Allison Janney to take up the smaller roles you know you're on a winner.The ending, or even the last 30 minutes are where things start to slide a little bit and it's almost as if the film stops itself from going too edgy in order to appeal to the masses. For me I would have liked the ending to have trusted itself and its audience a bit more.A good film, worth seeking out.

isaaclaughter55 One of the few films which makes you laugh, think and feel deeply. It made me think on its messages long after viewing, on the experience of life in university in the humanities -to formative, shaping experiences.The dialoge is extraordinarily well written and the casting really works to bring out the heart of the film. Every character contributes profound insight in an understated manner. The film deals with the divide between the arriving encroachment of mundane adulthood. The film is many things, but above all, an ode to the experience of being in school, in liberal arts college.