You Were Never Really Here

It reviews better than it plays — admired more than it is enjoyed.

• “Over the years, Phoenix has given us some of the most memorable portraits of dark flawed men from Commodus to Johnny Cash. Here, he is excellent, utterly convincing as a man who has been hammered by the world and so has decided to hammer it back.”

  John Bleasdale, CineVue · 100

• “The entire, whippet-lean film feels like an experiment in impressionist condensation, as though Ramsay is testing the limits of how little she can give us, and how weird it can be, while still delivering a recognisable revenge thriller.”

  Jessica Kiang, The Playlist · 100

• “It’s not an experience to relish, exactly, but it’s still one that’s fully capable of blowing you away.”

  Tim Robey, The Telegraph · 100

• “Ramsay elevates the material way beyond the conventional by sheer filmmaking craft.”

  Allan Hunter, Screen Daily · 100

• “Ramsay has made more sensually rapturous films, but this may be her most formally exacting: No shot or cut here is idle or extraneous.”

  Guy Lodge, Variety · 100