Kam Williams University City Review Jun 16, 2007 4/4

A gritty, Brazilian drama which called for Alice Braga to be naked and in heat nearly non-stop, whether in a bed with a boyfriend or one of her assortedy Johns.

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Doris Toumarkine Film Journal International Mar 1, 2007

The meager plot is no more than a clothesline upon which to hang some heated sex scenes and ugly violence.

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Urban Cinefile Critics Urban Cinefile Nov 24, 2006

There are sections of the screenplay that lead nowhere and I also find the ending makes the film rather incomplete. Yet it's a gripping work, and a powerful journey while it lasts.

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Rob Thomas Capital Times (Madison, WI) Sep 6, 2006 3/4

For stretches it's enough to enjoy the grungy but gorgeous locations, the soulful performances of the three leads and the frequent, ravenous sex scenes. OK, for long stretches it's enough.

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Chris Barsanti Filmcritic.com Aug 30, 2006 2.5/5

not quite enough to make this the explosive debut he no doubt was wishing for.

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Eric D. Snider EricDSnider.com Aug 30, 2006 D+

Yes, it can be hard having a girlfriend who's a hooker.

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Marc Savlov Austin Chronicle Aug 26, 2006 3.5/5

The toastiest summer on record is but an intermittently flickering 40-watt bulb when held up to the positively incendiary sexual firestorm that is Brazilian import Lower City.

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Tom Keogh Seattle Times Aug 18, 2006 2/4

Everything feels obvious and by-the-numbers, as if director and co-writer Srgio Machado was constrained by archetypes and narrative tradition.

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Ruthe Stein San Francisco Chronicle Aug 18, 2006 2/4

With a distinct lack of action, Machado resorts to far too many close-ups of his stars until, as good-looking as they are, you tire of looking at them.

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Jack Garner Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Aug 18, 2006 7/10

The setting is far more enticing than the story. Sometimes, that's enough.

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Marc Mohan Oregonian Aug 18, 2006 B

Three potent performances readily compensate for the familiar plot.

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Terry Lawson Detroit Free Press Aug 18, 2006 3/4

A steamy love triangle that may earn our attention primarily on prurient interest, but ends up being honestly involving.

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Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone TheMovieChicks.com Aug 18, 2006 3/5

A steamy lust triangle that would be better if you didn't get the feeling that the guys were competing (kinda like in the cockfight) and Karinna is just the prize that goes to the victor.

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Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid Aug 18, 2006 3/4

Brazilian director Sergio Machado once worked as an assistant to Walter Salles, but fortunately, his new film as director, Lower City is alive in ways that Salles could not conceive.

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Bill White Seattle Post-Intelligencer Aug 17, 2006 C

In trying for realism, Machado only achieves dramatic inertness. His three fallen characters drift through life with no purpose other than to satisfy their immediate physical needs.

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Mary F. Pols Contra Costa Times Aug 17, 2006 2.5/4

Machado asks us to believe in the love between Karinna, Deco and Naldinho without ever making us feel anything but the tug of their sexual attraction.

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Michael Hardy Boston Globe Aug 12, 2006 2/4

Everyone involved in the film seems better than the material.

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Phil Villarreal Arizona Daily Star Aug 4, 2006 3/4

Any social comments the film might contain fall by the wayside in your brain, pushed aside by the bullet: 'Karinna's topless again!' That's life in Lower City.

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Rene Rodriguez Miami Herald Aug 4, 2006 2.5/4

Strong performances by the three leads ... help to make up for the story's sliver of a plot.

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