about an "intellectually challenged, poorly spoken politician." Sayles commented on that marketing approach in an entertainment interview for CNN: The film played in 162 theaters at its widest and earned US$1.4 million at the box office in Canada and the United States. It also earned around $300,000 from both Ireland and the United Kingdom. Critical response Silver City had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Market during the Cannes Film Festival. Critics noted the similarities between the fictitious Dicky Pilager and the real George W. Bush, with some also seeing parallels between the fictitious campaign manager and the real Karl Rove. Roger Ebert praised the film, but said it likely wouldn't change any votes in the 2004 election: "America is familiar with the way [George W. Bush] talks, and about half of us are comfortable with it. That's why Silver City may not change any votes. There is nothing in the movie's portrait of Pilager/Bush that has not already been absorbed and discounted by the electorate." Ruthe Stein called the film "wildly uneven" with "dull" stretches: " . . but the movie comes alive when Cooper is in it, especially his scenes with Richard Dreyfuss as Dickie's savvy campaign manager." Caryn James called the film's script and direction "exhilarating", characterizing the film as "a Bush-bashing work that is more than Bush-bashing" which "goes beyond election-year satire to reach broader themes of corporate power, campaign double talk and journalistic responsibility." She also called the film a "detective story with a half-dozen major characters and a twisty Chinatown plot that begins when the environmentally hostile Dickie is filming an environmentally friendly campaign ad and fishes a corpse out of a river." The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 48% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on 128 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "Heavy-handed and often dull." Notes References External links 2004 films 2000s mystery comedy-drama films American political satire films Films about elections Films directed by John Sayles Films set in Colorado Films set in 2004 Films shot in Colorado Cultural depictions of George W. Bush American mystery comedy-drama films Films with screenplays by John Sayles Films scored by Mason Daring 2004 comedy films 2004 drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films