Arkansas Reviews
M.N. Miller Ready Steady Cut
Clarke Duke’s directorial debut is a southern crime saga that practically drips with a style all its own.
Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 28, 2022
Edward Porter Times (UK)
The dialogue is hard-boiled and the cast includes reliable tough talkers: John Malkovich, Vince Vaughn and Michael K Williams.
Full Review | Aug 22, 2022
Keith Garlington
That balance between a Southern black comedy and a gritty crime thriller is one of the most impressive things about Clark Duke’s entertaining debut.
Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 19, 2022
Alix Turner Filmotomy
Arkansas is a blend of affectionate, easy going and satisfying - not something I expected to write regarding a film focusing on American drug-runners.
Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Feb 9, 2021
Paul Salfen AMFM Magazine
Think of it as a Southern-fried drug running, violent yet funny stepbrother of a Cohen Brothers movie. The performances are solid but the movie itself isn't award-winning.
Full Review | Original Score: 5.0 | Nov 25, 2020
Jonita Davis The Black Cape
Like most dark comedies in the same vein as Fargo, trouble in 'Arkansas' starts with one body and goes downhill until Frog himself has to step in to deal with things. And, no one wants that.
Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 16, 2020
John Serba Decider
Arkansas is a try-hard exercise in overly self-aware cleverness.
Full Review | Aug 6, 2020
Ella Kemp NME (New Musical Express)
Despite the strong cast, Arkansas is mostly just recycled scenarios from better movies that fail to create much of an original impact when strung together.
Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 21, 2020
Harry Guerin RTÉ (Ireland)
Sure enough, Arkansas' depiction of the desperate hours and people keeps the interest, even as the shortcomings reveal themselves.
Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 21, 2020
Brian Viner Daily Mail (UK)
A real disappointment.
Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 18, 2020
David Hughes Empire Magazine
Feeling like a relic from the wave of '90s crime ensembles that followed in Tarantino's wake, Arkansas not only squanders some good talent, it's a tragic waste of a fine book.
Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 14, 2020
Ellen E Jones Guardian
As a collection of smart-mouthed southern ne'er-do-wells, Arkansas amuses, but as a showcase for colourful 70s menswear, it excels.
Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 10, 2020
Frank Wilkins Reel Reviews
Finds its stride in its offbeat quirkiness featuring a five-act structure that juggles its goofy characters and mixes up criss-crossing timelines in a meandering road trip soup right out of the Joel and Ethan Coen playbook.
Full Review | Original Score: 3.5 | Jun 26, 2020
Michael Wood London Review of Books
Arkansas in many ways feels more like a play or a talk show than a movie, and... it can be very funny when there doesn't seem much to laugh at.
Full Review | Jun 12, 2020
Witney Seibold Critically Acclaimed Podcast
'Arkansas' is obnoxious, faux-quirky, and too clever by half. It feels like it was lifted directly from the wave of post-'Pulp Fiction' scuzz movies that arose in the late 1990s, but without the wit.
Full Review | May 27, 2020
Shannon McGrew Nightmarish Conjurings
The best way I can describe this film is it's a Southern-fried thriller by way of Fargo.
Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | May 18, 2020
Stephen Silver Splice Today
An atmospheric and at times darkly hilarious Southern crime picture, and one of the better films to arrive in the quarantine era.
Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | May 15, 2020
Don Shanahan 25YL (25 Years Later)
What could have been a menacing mystery ends up being little better than a quirky pickle or two.
Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | May 13, 2020
Linda and Al Lerner Movies and Shakers
While Arkansas may have aspired to have some Coen Brothers or Quentin Tarantino-esque flavor, Clark Duke's first outing is an uneven, at times entertaining, and often exasperating, corn-pone crime-drama.
Full Review | May 12, 2020
Richard Whittaker Austin Chronicle
With its brooding tone of tired inevitability, his Arkansas knows exactly how to find drama and sentiment in what could otherwise just be a dour path to the inevitable.
Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | May 12, 2020