75
Metascore
22 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternWall Street JournalJoe MorgensternAndrew Garfield's phenomenal performance makes room for the many and various pieces of Jack's personality, whether or not they're securely fastened together.
- 80Village VoiceVillage VoiceThe film's both smart and devastating as it unthreads interwoven questions about redemption, justice, and the pivotal role of history in shaping an individual and his actions.
- 80The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenMr. Garfield's performance makes Jack so endearing and vulnerable that as he takes his first wobbly steps, like a baby bird shoved from its nest, your instincts are protective.
- 80SalonAndrew O'HehirSalonAndrew O'HehirA compelling, compact melodrama that packs an emotional wallop. It's my nominee for sleeper surprise of the summer, at least so far.
- 80NPRBob MondelloNPRBob MondelloJack, as played by Andrew Garfield, comes across as agonized, desperately anxious to get things right -- something you might also say about the filmmakers, who have turned Boy A's very particular story into a scary, universal and wrenching social statement.
- 75TV Guide MagazineKen FoxTV Guide MagazineKen FoxDirector John Crowley and screenwriter Mark O'Rowe's follow-up to their feature film debut "Intermission" may follow an all-too schematic flashback structure, but the film is too brilliantly acted for that to really matter much.
- 70VarietyJoe LeydonVarietyJoe LeydonPicture inspires respect for its first-rate performances, artful construction and meticulous understatement.
- 60New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierNew York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierIf Hitchcock had done a coming-of-age drama, it might have resembled this haunting, nervous, sad movie about an early twentysomething.
- 50New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinNew York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinThis is another of those dead-kid dramas in which the terrible event is handled like a striptease--tantalizing flashes until the climax.
- 50New York PostLou LumenickNew York PostLou LumenickMoves in a predictable path that includes some remarkable coincidences.