Tom Dawson

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Total Film
For 62 reviews, this critic has graded:
  • 43% higher than the average critic
  • 6% same as the average critic
  • 51% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 4.7 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)

Tom Dawson's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
Average review score: 70
Highest review score: 80 Greatest Days
Lowest review score: 40 Paris-Manhattan
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 38 out of 62
  2. Mixed: 24 out of 62
  3. Negative: 0 out of 62
62 movie reviews
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    • 91 Metascore
    • 80 Tom Dawson
    Nostalgia for the Light
    Drawing on the testimonies of some fascinating interviewees, and filled with dazzling digital images of galaxies and landscapes, it’s a film that makes you ponder the mysteries of human existence anew.
    • 90 Metascore
    • 80 Tom Dawson
    This Is Not a Film
    Drawing on revealing clips from Panahi's previous films, TINAF reveals not only the realities of artistic censorship, but its firework-laden finale shows how cinema thrives on spontaneity.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 40 Tom Dawson
    The Prey
    Sweeping landscape shots and the reliable presence of Sergi López, here playing a scarred private investigator, can’t distract from the clichés of a particularly dim-witted script.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 80 Tom Dawson
    My Journey Through French Cinema
    [Bertrand Tavernier] pays heartfelt tribute to the directors, stars and composers who ignited his passion.
    • 87 Metascore
    • 80 Tom Dawson
    Elena
    Backed by a sparing Philip Glass score, Elena eloquently shows how, in modern Russia, even family relationships are at the mercy of business.
    • 36 Metascore
    • 40 Tom Dawson
    Paris-Manhattan
    Sophie Lellouche’s slick debut is chock-full of Woody-com quotes and references, yet it remains an inconsequential, undernourished trifle that does sod-all with its potential.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Tom Dawson
    Graduation
    Masterfully filmed in long takes, this slow-burner lays bare a world of systemic corruption.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 Tom Dawson
    Museum Hours
    Blurring documentary/fiction boundaries, writer/director Jem Cohen’s film is deceptively simple.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Tom Dawson
    Glory
    Shot with doc-style immediacy, it expertly builds to a shocking climax.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 Tom Dawson
    Gloria
    Sticking tightly to its heroine’s everyday routines and rituals, this deft blend of humour and pathos fully earns its defiantly upbeat dance-floor denouement.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Tom Dawson
    Le Havre
    Kaurismäki adeptly weaves rockabilly musical interludes, a stylised colourscheme and droll performances into a warm-hearted salute to both classical French cinema and working-class solidarity.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Tom Dawson
    Archipelago
    In long, static takes, Hogg calmly exposes the gulf between polite facades and repressed resentments.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Tom Dawson
    Mountain
    Tracing how the world’s peaks came to be viewed as playgrounds, it needs to be seen on the big screen for its vertiginous images of high-altitude adventurers.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 Tom Dawson
    Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
    Closer in metaphysical spirit to Kiarostami than to Leone, it lingers thanks to beautifully lit widescreen images of lived-in faces and barren, beautiful landscapes.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Tom Dawson
    Sister
    The strong supporting gallery - including Gillian Anderson and Martin Compston - feels underused, but Meier and her ace DoP Agnès Godard make shrewd use of the dramatic alpine locations.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 Tom Dawson
    Daughters of the Dust
    Drawing on their traditions of oral storytelling, it’s lushly photographed and costumed, plus dreamily confusing, yet it vividly brings a past to life.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Tom Dawson
    Incendies
    Expertly shifting between present and past , writer-director Denis Villeneuve displays an impressive command of his material, patiently building up to an emotionally explosive climax.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Tom Dawson
    Goodbye First Love
    Some will find Camille too self-absorbed, yet writer/director Mia Hansen-Løve (Father Of My Children) conjures poignancy, grace and a feel for symbolic seasonal change that's positively Renoir-esque.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Tom Dawson
    The Big Picture
    Built around a multilayered performance from Duris, it's a film unafraid to pose more questions than it answers.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Tom Dawson
    Beyond the Hills
    Arduous yet always absorbing, Cristian Mungiu’s first full-length feature since 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days is inspired by a real-life case of a tragically botched exorcism in rural Romania.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 60 Tom Dawson
    Keep the Lights On
    Keep The Lights On feels lopsided in its focus on Erik, with Paul remaining a strangely remote object of the former's romantic devotion.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Tom Dawson
    In Between
    The film reveals how patriarchal values clash with the desires of its female characters to lead more emancipated lives.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Tom Dawson
    Beach Rats
    This dreamily shot US indie is an insightful study of sexual repression and awakening, featuring a compelling lead performance from Brit newcomer Dickinson.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Tom Dawson
    Paradise: Hope
    Against the odds this is a sometimes droll and surprisingly tender affair, and a fitting end to Seidl’s magnum opus.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Tom Dawson
    London - The Modern Babylon
    You’re left marvelling at London’s capacity for renewal and reinvention.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 60 Tom Dawson
    Child's Pose
    The restlessness of the camerawork may drive you to distraction, but director/co-writer Calin Peter Netzer’s film is held steady by Gheorghiu’s staunch performance.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Tom Dawson
    Caesar Must Die
    “Ever since I discovered art,” laments one participant, “this cell has truly become a prison.”
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Tom Dawson
    Lore
    This oblique and understated tale of lost innocence conveys both an individual’s experiences and a powerful sense of a ruined nation.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Tom Dawson
    La Piscine
    An intriguing forerunner to François Ozon’s Swimming Pool, it’s languidly paced and elegantly lensed, though its prize asset is Delon/ Schneider’s sexual sizzle.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Tom Dawson
    Reality
    The film belongs to Arena, outstanding as a man growing ever more delusional in his quest to acquire celebrity status.
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