Critics reviews

Between the Lines comes across as a lament for the death of counterculture journalism... But Silver’s film—bristling with a loose, nervy energy that she corrals in expertly—is also a comedy about how ideals persist and replenish themselves.

For most of its talky running time, Between the Lines is a hangout film in which too few of the characters are good company. People muse nostalgically about a past we have no access to; they gripe about relationship problems and career aspirations. They talk a lot, and Barron’s dialogue is a far cry from the banter of the Screwball era’s imagined newsrooms.

With an all-star cast and some great comedic bits — enjoy watching Goldblum engage in a battle with a local performance artist at the Back Bay Mainline headquarters — Between the Lines is a late addition to the already impressive canon of essential 1970s cinema.

A lot of the throwaway lines and casual interactions among the staff, at work or in bed, feel authentic and true to the period. Silver makes the very most of everything... [Between the Lines doubles as] a time capsule of a specific moment in the alternative weekly lifespan, a showcase of ripely promising talent, [and] a reminder of how good Silver’s touch really was.

It's to the credit of Joan Micklin Silver's bohemian dramedy, Between the Lines, that [Boston's] shabbiness comes through as truthfully as it does.

Ostensibly an examination (and celebration?) of the counter-culture from within... Between the Lines is soon revealed to be an unabashedly Hollywoodian paean to journalism and the free drink... That said, Silver's penny plain direction is surprisingly effective. An odd film.

The perceptive humour comes from the last bastion of 1960s political radicalism taking on corporate thinking, coupled with a brilliant ensemble cast milking every moment for wit and poignancy... Utterly engrossing and believable, this is a spirited satire full of real people involved in real situations.

"Between the Lines" is, technically, a newspaper film, but what distinguishes it is the gently perceptive way it captures the emotional confusions of its characters... [The film] is at its best when it ambles in and out of their lives, over-hearing lovers' quarrels, professional conflicts, office politics... [and the performances] are uniformly first-rate, the kind of ensemble work in which no actor is more or less important than another.