The Selfish Giant
Sundance Selects | Release Date: December 20, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
83
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 22 Critic Reviews
Positive:
21
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
SalonAndrew O'HehirDec 20, 2013
It’s so assured and accomplished, so rigorous on both a human and technical level, and so clearly driven by love for this harsh landscape and its hardened people, that I was entirely swept away by its characters and their story. Read full review
100
Village VoiceInkoo KangDec 17, 2013
Devastating in its simplicity and honesty, The Selfish Giant is a colossus of feeling. Read full review
100
Total FilmPaul BradshawOct 24, 2013
Carried aloft by the remarkable performances of her two young leads, Clio Barnard’s poignant, unflinching slice of hard-knock-life grips tight and lingers long. Britain’s definitely got talent. Read full review
100
VarietyGuy LodgeMay 27, 2013
The film’s turn toward the tragic is hardly untelegraphed, but its emotional blows still land with crushing precision. Read full review
100
The TelegraphRobbie CollinMay 27, 2013
So hauntingly perfect is Barnard’s film, and so skin-pricklingly alive does it make you feel to watch it, that at first you can hardly believe the sum of what you have seen. Read full review
90
NPRMark JenkinsDec 20, 2013
As Arbor, nonprofessional actor Chapman gives one of the fiercest performances of this kind since Martin Compston's turn as a different sort of teenage entrepreneur in Loach's 2002 film "Sweet Sixteen." He's riveting, even in his final moment of calm. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloDec 18, 2013
That The Selfish Giant feels familiar rather than groundbreaking makes it seem to some degree a step back for its talented director, but she’s avoided the sophomore jinx with aplomb. Read full review
83
The PlaylistJessica KiangJul 8, 2013
The Selfish Giant preaches compassion by showing us in its very closing moments, the fathomless goodness that can lie beneath even the spittingest, snarlingest exterior. Read full review
80
The New YorkerAnthony LaneJan 6, 2014
From the beginning, you can feel this restive, pulsing movie burn from discontent toward disaster. The whole thing should sap the spirit, and make you despair of a lost and wasted country, yet you are constantly shocked awake by the energy of Arbor, whether it is spent on insolence, initiative, or grief. The boy’s a bright wire. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesAnnlee EllingsonDec 26, 2013
The Selfish Giant is devastating social realism in the mode of Ken Loach's "Kes." Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanDec 19, 2013
Both leading actors are teenagers who’ve never acted before — and they are both phenomenal. Read full review
80
The DissolveNoel MurrayDec 19, 2013
The Selfish Giant is a harsh movie, but it isn’t devoid of hope, because Barnard understands that everything has value—even if it can’t be realized until after an object’s been tossed out. Read full review
80
Time OutEric HynesDec 18, 2013
Mike Eley’s gorgeously saturated cinematography helps elevate the boys’ struggle into the realm of the heroic, but it’s the two young stars — one a whirlwind and the other a quiet protector — who make this only-slightly tall tale into something towering. Read full review
80
Time Out LondonDave CalhounOct 22, 2013
It’s not a pretty story, but its warmth lies in its fondness – love, even – for the two boys at its heart. Read full review
80
EmpireDamon WiseOct 21, 2013
A terrific human drama about two boys about to be consigned to the scrapheap, with standout performances from its young leads. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterNeil YoungMay 27, 2013
[A] solidly effective addition to Britain's social realism tradition, elevated by excellent performances by the young leads and some unexpectedly poetic touches. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawMay 27, 2013
This is a fine film, which cements Barnard's growing reputation as one of Britain's best film-makers. Read full review
79
Film.comKate ErblandDec 24, 2013
An emotionally punishing experience. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineOscar MoraldeDec 16, 2013
The ear for language is paired with an eye for the landscape, and the film finds beauty even in such a seemingly dreary, economically depressed community. Read full review
75
IndieWireEric KohnMay 27, 2013
Though slow-going for much of its running time, Arbor's delicate tale culminates with a frighteningly choreographed tragedy, but tacks on a beautifully evocative and mostly wordless epilogue that carries the semblance of progress. Read full review
70
The New York TimesA.O. ScottDec 19, 2013
Intent on showing that Arbor and Swifty live in a world of radically limited possibilities, barely sustained by their families and failed by the state, Ms. Barnard locks them into a narrative prison. Their fates seem predetermined less by their circumstances than by the iron will and limited imagination of their creator. Read full review
50
New York PostSara StewartDec 20, 2013
It is admirably unsparing and gloomily atmospheric. And I looked at my watch a bunch of times. Read full review
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