August 6, 2008
Ensemble drama clumsily works its way to a Big Message.
Paul Dano,
Rosario Dawson,
Naomie Harris,
Lou Taylor Pucci,
Frankie Shaw
... see more 
The beauty of hope and the power of unity form the foundation of this tale of youthful love, drugs, and poverty in the City of Brotherly Love. Seven-year-old Babo suffers from asthma, and lives with h... read more
DVD Release Date: July 14, 2009
Stats: 472 reviews
Your Rating
Flixster Reviews (472)
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September 4, 2010Three of my favorite young actors are in this movie: Paul Dano, Lou Taylor Pucci and Rosario Dawson. I was bound to like it even if it had been horrible, but as it turned out I liked it because it was wonderful.
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July 12, 2009You're willing to go for it, my pleasure. Oh, such dedicated drama that comes off as a pitiful bore.
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July 9, 2009Well acted but the movie is far from exciting and for me it moved along at a snails pace. The Philadelphia setting added nothing to the film. Fair at best.
Critic Reviews
March 20, 2009
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times
March 6, 2009
Lou Lumenick, New York Post
Despite a good cast, Explicit Ills is about as phony as it gets. Full Review
March 6, 2009
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
Gorgeous to look at and touchingly sincere, Mark Webber's directorial debut makes a considerable impact despite its evident flaws. Full Review
March 6, 2009
Manohla Dargis, New York Times
There is much to argue with, and much to regret, about a film whose director thinks he needs to drop an anvil on our heads when art would suffice.
March 4, 2009
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
Two of the cast members shine: Lou Taylor Pucci as a drug dealer who finds a new lover and baptizes himself in substance abuse, and Rosario Dawson as a mother trying to care for her asthmatic son with... Full Review
March 3, 2009
Aaron Hillis, Village Voice
The film is confidently polished and thankfully more sweet-tempered than preachy, given that every narrative thread has an underlying theme of social injustice. Full Review
August 28, 2008
Peter Schilling, Minneapolis Star Tribune
It's the best reflection of inner city life, and its effect on children, since Charles Burnett's 1977 drama Killer of Sheep. Full Review
July 1, 2008
Robert Koehler, Variety
Actor-turned-director Mark Webber combines the worst of two schemes in his debut feature, Explicit Ills: overweening artistic pretense with a crudely conceived political message. Full Review
March 28, 2008
John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter
Political awareness doesn't spell preachiness in slice-of-life directing debut for actor Mark Webber.
March 2, 2011
Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures
suffers from a simultaneous affliction of overwriting and underwriting Full Review
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Explicit Ills
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