69
Metascore
22 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80CineVueDaniel GreenCineVueDaniel GreenThe key here is the perfectly-cast Wilson, constantly swimming against the current of her own harrowing memories, often telling more in a single glance than her sporadic utterances to her similarly-broken brother ever could.
- 80Total FilmSimon KinnearTotal FilmSimon KinnearRural life is familiar terrain for British cinema, but with Barnard as our guide, it remains an enthralling destination.
- 75The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorThe rugged emotional territory (and the Yorkshire accents) prove heavy-going in an uncompromising film that elicits a lot more admiration than enjoyment.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinThe Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinThe dominant note is the warm but quotidian realism of Giant rather than the experimental daring of Arbor, yet Dark River yields a perceptive study of family dynamics, unfolding in a changing landscape as prey to economic forces and demographic shifts as any urban center.
- 60EmpireAndrew LowryEmpireAndrew LowryThis is a wilder, bigger thing than just another farmyard sink drama. There may be little you haven’t seen elsewhere, but there’s no denying the skill here.
- 60The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawWilson and Stanley are both excellent performers and they are the mainstays of a valuable piece of work, but I felt the ending was contrived and a bit grandiloquent. However, the visual style and fluency of the film are obvious.
- Barnard once again evokes a grubby, gothic landscape that’ll get right under your fingernails. It’ll stay there for weeks.
- 58The PlaylistOliver LytteltonThe PlaylistOliver LytteltonIt’s still evidently the work of a very talented filmmaker and is certainly never bad, but it also never lives up to its potential. Barnard has a long career ahead of her, but Dark River seems destined to be remembered, years now, as a minor work in her filmography.
- 42The Film StageThe Film StageWith such a simple approach to heavy subject matter, Barnard creates a distancing effect that reveals the feebleness of her screenplay and direction.