Permission

You kind of want to slap everybody in Permission, and that's kind of the point.

While it deals with heavy relationship issues including the validity of monogamy, it manages an easy, seemingly effortless humor that seduces the audience while simultaneously breaking filmgoers' hearts.

Stevens and Hall are always interesting to watch. (In fact, you should watch him in "The Guest" and her in "The Awakening," if you want to see two excellent, lesser-known films.)

Ms. Hall ... is the standout, selling Anna's indecision even through some of the script's dubious patches.

[Hall and Stevens'] glowing performances are contained in a wan road-not-taken drama.

An unconvincing treatment of familiar themes.

Strong performances and an interesting premise combine to make Permission an entertaining adult romance.

... the concept of this indie rom-com, which-like most promises made in haste and on the cheap-doesn't quite deliver in the end.

Permission offers a novel spin on its romantic-comedy premise, exploring the idea that people can do stupid things with the best intentions.

... it works best as a tale about what communication errors to avoid when pursuing an open relationship.

It's a bittersweet note to compliment the messy, endlessly complicated profile Crano constructs around his leads.

When Crano digs into the psychological muck with this premise, he's generally far more effective a storyteller than when he relies on cliché.