66
Metascore
21 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83The PlaylistBradley WarrenThe PlaylistBradley WarrenAbsent from Young Ahmed is the frenetic urgency that defines the directors’ greatest work, replaced here by the titular character’s unshakable tunnel vision.
- 80Screen DailyAllan HunterScreen DailyAllan HunterFocused and thought-provoking, it should be welcomed as a return to form after the disappointment of The Unknown Girl.
- 80CineVueMartyn ConterioCineVueMartyn ConterioTold respectfully and far from tarring an entire religion with the same brush, Young Ahmed is an exceptionally crafted and intelligent film.
- 80Time OutDave CalhounTime OutDave CalhounYoung Ahmed might not have answers, but it asks pertinent questions and makes acute observations. Its ending is hopeful, yet open. It’s a wise and sensitive contribution to a timely debate.
- 75IndieWireEric KohnIndieWireEric KohnThe Dardennes have been the reigning kings of social realism for years, and tell these sort of morality fables on autopilot, but they’re such precise storytellers that even a minor work like “Young Ahmed” manages to deliver tense showdowns riddled with real-world connotations.
- 70VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeInstantly recognizable as a Dardenne film, Young Ahmed has that same deceptively “rough” quality as the directors’ earlier work, a carryover from their documentary background. And yet, they are astonishingly efficient storytellers, weaving the necessary clues audiences need to evaluate — and at times entirely reconsider — their characters with the expertise of veteran detective novelists.
- 67The A.V. ClubA.A. DowdThe A.V. ClubA.A. DowdYoung Ahmed isn’t a folly, exactly. It’s reasonably gripping on a scene-by-scene level, and about as starkly unsentimental as any of the Dardennes’ lean, urgent moral thrillers. But its inability to shine a light on Ahmed’s soul leaves it feeling more like an exercise than anything the brothers have made, especially by its hasty, unearned ending.
- 60The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawIt is an involving story, with a strong lead performance.
- 60The TelegraphRobbie CollinThe TelegraphRobbie CollinFanaticism – even in one so young and theoretically still savable – is a uniquely bad match for the brothers’ methods.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinThe Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinIn the end, Young Ahmed feels like little more than a pained shrug, elegantly made, yes, but vaporous and virtue-signaling an empathy that's more gestural than heartfelt.