Release: Slowly Dying

 

Slowly Dying

Genre: Comedy/Drama

Director: Alexander Payne

Writer: Alex Conn

Cast: Paul Giamatti, Rachel Sennott, Shailene Woodley, JK Simmons, Patricia Clarkson, Rachel Blanchard

Budget: $22,000,000

Domestic Box Office: $34,504,942

Foreign Box Office: $13,854,888

Total Profit: $8,056,333

Reaction: Director Alexander Payne's LRF debut managed to earn a small profit for the studio, which I'm sure was a welcome sight for writer Alex Conn who has not had a lot of recent box office success lately (more on that in the Box Office Breakdown).

"In Slowly Dying, writer Alex Conn spends a lot more time espousing not particularly nuanced political takes than he does developing characters and a story worth caring about. Constant speeches and political rallies derail what very little actual plot there is (which would have been an interesting plot had Conn had more focus), becoming repetitive and aggravating. Paul Giamatti's character winds up with no story arc of note, with the script backtracking any progress with a baffling finale that somehow manages to make all the characters less likable at the same time." - Dave Manning, Ridgefield Press

"SLOWLY DYING is a daring political satire that's been missing in cinema nowadays in the modern day. Alexander Payne delivers his signature style of comedy that masterfully compares to the way Barry Levinson did for WAG THE DOG. Duo of Giamatti & Sennott deliver on all counts. Alex Conn's script may be proceeded as one sided but his controversial writing may be some of the work work he has done for Last Resort Films. So all in all, I say 'to whom the beholder'." - Rebra Colemon,  Metro Newspaper (UK)

"Given the timeliness of the film’s subject matter, Slowly Dying has a difficult task to convey its ideas without sounding preachy. Conn’s maturation as a writer is on display, in this aspect, as the film is able to navigate a certain moral complexity—albeit with some questionable story beats in the end. While Giamatti and Sennott play off of each other well, the sexual chemistry required for the film’s final act was just not fully there for me." - Reggie Coscarelli, San Fernando Valley Sun

Rated R for strong language and sexual content/nudity