79
Metascore
14 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Time OutDavid FearTime OutDavid FearIt’s a near-perfect portrait of a domestic tragedy as a master-and-servant psychodrama, one that leaves catastrophic collateral damage in its wake.
- 90The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisMuch like the Dardennes, Mr. Joachim holds to the truth that the personal is political, which is why this isn’t simply a movie about a woman and an unspeakable crime, but also an exploration of the power and cruelty that brought her to that very dark place.
- 80The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawÉmilie Dequenne is the young actor who made a powerful debut in the Dardenne brothers' prize-winning film "Rosetta" in 1999, and what a superb performance she gives now in this inexpressibly painful drama.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerThe Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerReteaming to play a duo similar to the one in A Prophet, Rahim and Arestrup maintain the film’s tense and sinister tone – the former providing a convincing mix of fragility and machismo, and the latter looking and acting more and more like Brando in the latter half of his career.
- 80Village VoiceViolet LuccaVillage VoiceViolet LuccaCan a film that holds no surprises be of value? In the case of Our Children, which masterfully plays with stylistic conventions and all-too-common instances of real-life matricide, the answer is decidedly yes.
- 75The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyThe A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyThough Lafosse’s handling of the actors is pitch-perfect, his sense of structure is more problematic. The decision to start the movie at the end and then jump back several years undercuts the drama.
- 63Slant MagazineAndrew SchenkerSlant MagazineAndrew SchenkerIt's occasionally too icily removed, but it compensates through its perpetual concern with understanding its characters and their untenable situations.
- 50The DissolveMike D'AngeloThe DissolveMike D'AngeloThe movie fails, but it’s like watching R.P. McMurphy try to lift that huge marble fixture in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest—at least they tried, goddammit.
- 42The PlaylistDrew TaylorThe PlaylistDrew TaylorWhen the final moment comes and it's revealed how the children died, it's less of a surprise than a shrug. Drama robbed of suspense is just dull.