Tomboy 2011

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: The story that emerges is programmatic and largely unsurprising, but these children give it messiness, joy and life. Read more

David Fear, Time Out: Tomboy may add little to conversations about gender or sexuality. It has everything to say, however, about that period of childhood when identity is at its most malleable. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: "Tomboy," a brief and sweetly refreshing French film, is the story of a lie. Read more

Noel Murray, AV Club: Two feature films into her career, writer-director Celine Sciamma has proven unusually skilled at making short, plot-light movies about budding adolescents discovering themselves. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: "Tomboy'' is as visually beautiful as its 10-year-old heroine is defiantly plain. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: Modestly conceived and executed. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: There are nevertheless some marvelous moments. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: A beautiful, matter-of-fact French drama about a young girl who wants to be a boy - and for one singular summer around her 10th birthday passes as one... Read more

Jordan Mintzer, Hollywood Reporter: Coming-of-age tale tackles gender confusion with humor and heart. Read more

Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times: Quiet and naturalistic in the best way, the French film "Tomboy" rolls out a tale of malleable pre-adolescent identity with a marked absence of sensationalism. Read more

Stanley Kauffmann, The New Republic: Tomboy is a lovely reminder that the French have long been famous for a quite different sort of film-about children. Read more

Scott Tobias, NPR: There's an absolute naturalism to all the performances here. That's crucial, especially from Heran, who's playing a character who does not yet know herself. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: Its young heroine is proud to be herself; there's just not much for her to do beyond that. Read more

Sara Stewart, New York Post: Sciamma draws wonderfully natural performances from her young cast, and doesn't shy away from an uncomfortable or pensive silence. Read more

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: Open-minded and open-ended, Tomboy is a portrait of pubescence on the brink of chrysalis. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: "Tomboy" is tender and affectionate. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: Sciamma has wound back the clock to childhood to show us, with taste and sensitivity, something we have not seen. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Writer and director Celine Sciamma adorns the thorny dilemma with resonant allusions to gender roles... Read more

Jon Frosch, The Atlantic: Brisk, precisely observed, and bracingly non-preachy in its examination of a very tricky subject. Read more

Jennie Punter, Globe and Mail: Tomboy reveals a side of pre-adolescence rarely (if ever) depicted on the big screen, yet it never feels like a curiosity piece, nor is Laure (Zoe Heran), the titular character, portrayed as an outsider from a troubled home. Read more

David Jenkins, Time Out: Sciamma's careful and detailed portrayal of a confused kid trapped in gender purgatory never lunges for the easy gag at the expense of psychological credibility. Read more

Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: Sciamma (Water Lilies) deserves great praise for what she has accomplished with a simple film addressing a complex subject. Read more

Melissa Anderson, Village Voice: Tomboy astutely explores the freedom, however brief, of being untethered to the highly rule-bound world of gender codes. Read more

John DeFore, Washington Post: Sciamma pictures the story in dappled sunlight and wooded fields that, though not far from dull apartment blocks, have an out-of-time seductiveness. Read more