71
Metascore
16 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeCatch the Fair One is activist filmmaking at its most compelling. Before you run away from the notion, consider this: It doesn’t feel like this tough, relentlessly dark thriller is trying to push some kind of political point, even if so many of its creative choices succeed in doing exactly that.
- 91The PlaylistRobert DanielsThe PlaylistRobert DanielsBy the waning minutes, when the film’s glimmering neorealism energy returns, cleansing the abrupt conclusion with a spellbound spirituality, Wladyka has assuredly provided a distinct vision that pulses to potent degrees.
- 90Film ThreatBobby LePireFilm ThreatBobby LePireCatch The Fair One is a fantastic and engaging effort across the board. The direction is lean and ably brings forth the emotional truth of each scene.
- 83The A.V. ClubKatie RifeThe A.V. ClubKatie RifeAlthough Wladyka foregrounds the movie’s razor-sharp edge—there’s a torture scene midway through that’s especially shocking—there’s a political undercurrent to the story, as well as an emotional one, that give Catch The Fair One uncommon resonance.
- 70Screen DailyWendy IdeScreen DailyWendy IdeMuch of Catch The Fair One’s lean authenticity comes from the film’s star (and real-life boxer) Kali Reis, who also gets a story credit on this picture. It’s a propulsive watch but, in common with many of the missing-person stories which inspired it, finds more dead-ends than answers.
- 70Screen RantMae AbdulbakiScreen RantMae AbdulbakiPoignant and raw, the film is effective in all the ways it should be. While it does a better job engaging with its revenge-fueled storyline in lieu of a more familial exploration in the wake of the tragedy, the film still manages to land a heart wrenching blow.
- 67IndieWireDavid EhrlichIndieWireDavid EhrlichDespite — or perhaps because of — how evocative Reis’ performance can be, Catch the Fair One asks her to fill in too many of its blanks.
- 67The Film StageMichael FrankThe Film StageMichael FrankWladyka’s film is always gripping, always searching, and always testing the boundaries of its protagonist and its audience.
- 60The New York TimesA.O. ScottThe New York TimesA.O. ScottThe nexus of racism, patriarchal power and sexual exploitation gives Catch the Fair One a pulse of righteous anger, and Reis’s charisma — her willingness to show fear as well as resolve — makes Kaylee a magnetic protagonist.
- 50Slant MagazineKeith WatsonSlant MagazineKeith WatsonThe solemnity of Josef Kubota Wladyka’s film is at odds with the gratuitousness of its violence.