69
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 91Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanSoderbergh is able to execute his games without pigeonholing his characters. He has made that rare thing, a modern-day noir with feeling.
- 88Chicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonChicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonSoderbergh pretty much failed in trying to evoke a noir-like nightmare world in the 1919 Prague of "Kafka," his 1991 terror film. But here, he dazzlingly hews out a noir landscape in more unlikely territory: modern-day Austin, Texas. [28 April 1995]
- 88Boston GlobeJay CarrBoston GlobeJay CarrSoderbergh's sleekly malignant Underneath is a nasty little winner. [28 April 1995, p.81]
- 75ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliThe strengths of The Underneath -- its atmosphere and character-centered basis -- are also its weaknesses.
- 70VarietyTodd McCarthyVarietyTodd McCarthyOn its most successful level, the film represents a slashing dramatic essay on the dismaying human tendency not to accept full responsibility for one's actions.
- 63Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertBy the end of the film the 1949 film noir sources are plainly in view, but earlier, Soderbergh seems more interested in personality quirks than double-crosses, and those are the more interesting scenes.
- 60Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLos Angeles TimesKenneth TuranThe Underneath doesn't add up. Made with polish and assurance, capably acted and intricately constructed, its overall impact is less than these parts would indicate. It is good but, against all logic, it is not good enough.
- The Underneath is too chaotic to work as a thriller. The suspense kicks in too late and blends uneasily with the rest of the film. But the movie has other sorts of appeal. At heart, it is not a lurid, noir story but a study of characters caught in an emotional disaster.
- 50San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco ChronicleSkillful as many of its elements are, however, The Underneath doesn't have the taut storytelling and intriguing characters to make this film noir make-over truly compelling.
- 50Miami HeraldRene RodriguezMiami HeraldRene RodriguezFrom a purely cinematic standpoint, The Underneath is Soderbergh's most daring work yet, full of elliptical flashbacks and fast-forwards; ominous camera angles and cinematic tricks. But Soderbergh's movies (sex, lies and videotape, Kafka, King of the Hill) have always been cunningly smart, and The Underneath is not. [28 April 1995, p.5G]