Bullhead
Drafthouse Films | Release Date: February 17, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
68
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
8
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayFeb 15, 2012
Bullhead is well-plotted, with a powerful ending, but its most brutal scene comes early, explaining why for Schoenaerts, life has been one long wince. Read full review
90
SlateDana StevensFeb 17, 2012
It's Schoenaerts' magisterial presence that carries the film. In between bursts of convincingly horrific violence (including a fight in an elevator that makes Ryan Gosling's in "Drive" look like a schoolyard tiff), Schoenaerts also shows himself capable of moments of great subtlety and delicacy. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranFeb 16, 2012
An intense, shattering film, a confident and accomplished, punch-in-the-gut debut by Belgian writer-director Michael R. Roskam that starts out like a thriller and turns into a disturbing tragedy in an unlikely and unexpected key. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterNatasha SenjanovicFeb 13, 2012
The actor literally takes the metaphors of his bull-headed character to the limits and is never less than believable or mesmerizing. Read full review
80
NPRScott TobiasFeb 21, 2012
Writer-director Michael K. Roskam takes his time in revealing why Jacky needs to shoot up, but that LaMotta restlessness is unmistakable - this bull here can rage. Read full review
80
The New YorkerAnthony LaneFeb 20, 2012
Jacky is not merely beefed up. He is a Minotaur in the making, and that, surely, is why his story becomes such a labyrinth. [27 Feb. 2012, p.87]
80
Boxoffice MagazineKate ErblandFeb 14, 2012
An impressively dark and well-crafted crime tale about, of all things, cattle farming and "the hormone mafia underworld." Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenFeb 15, 2012
A persistent narrative thread that pits Flemish-speaking Belgians against French-speaking Belgians will whiz past most American viewers, but hopefully not distract from its overall impact because this movie grabs the bull by the horns and takes viewers on a surprising ride. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerMar 2, 2012
Schoenaerts has the gift of being able to make inarticulateness expressive. Perhaps this is why, in moments, he seems to recall Brando and Dean. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertFeb 29, 2012
Bullhead contains the elements for a simple but overwhelming personal tragedy. It also contains other elements that create a muddle. It's one of those films you have to reconstruct in your mind. Read full review
75
Washington PostMark JenkinsFeb 23, 2012
Many terms applied to action movies - muscular, animalistic, testosterone-fueled - are literally true of Bullhead. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianShawn LevyFeb 23, 2012
Characters in Bullhead act out of stupidity, greed, anger and vanity; their world is filmed in a washed-out haze; the miserable fortune that devastated young Jacky haunts him ceaselessly still. The film's final notes hint at a state of grace, perhaps, or at least of release. But there's a tautological determinism throughout that suggest otherwise. Read full review
75
ObserverRex ReedFeb 14, 2012
I can tell you only that this is a film unlike anything I've seen before-harrowing, haunting and sordid. Be forewarned, it is not for the squeamish. But take a chance and you will be rewarded with a work of nightmarish force that is unforgettable. Read full review
70
VarietyBoyd van HoeijFeb 13, 2012
Though the story is told and edited in a way that too often obscures rather than enhances its central tragedy, much is compensated by a career-defining, powerfully physical lead perf by Matthias Schoenaerts and ace lensing by local widescreen wiz Nicolas Karakatsanis. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsMar 1, 2012
Schoenaerts is often affecting and just as often scarily intense. The film's intensity, by contrast, beams on and off. Read full review
60
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottMar 16, 2012
Unlike most enforcers in the movies, Jacky isn't just a brainless slab of meat. Read full review
60
The New York TimesStephen HoldenFeb 16, 2012
Part character study, part crime thriller, Bullhead is the impressive but deeply flawed first feature written and directed by Michael R. Roskam. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanFeb 16, 2012
Schoenaerts capably handles a difficult role that's equal parts pathetic, repulsive and heartbreaking. But you'll need a strong will to spend your time with such a tragically hopeless character. Read full review
60
Time OutDavid FearFeb 14, 2012
Every time the narrative's underworld schnooks and low-level lowlifes edge their way out of the periphery, a sense of snorting impatience takes over. This is Jacky's story, and when he's grabbing Bullhead by the horns, you don't want him to let go. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleWalter AddiegoFeb 24, 2012
There seems to be a pretty good film lurking around inside Bullhead, which makes what we actually see on the screen all the more frustrating. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley MorrisFeb 23, 2012
Roskam appears more interested in trying to combine genres that don't easily cohere. On one hand, the film's a crime-thriller and police procedural. On the other, it's about the lingering trauma of Jacky's personal misfortune. The other hand is much stronger. Read full review
50
Village VoiceMelissa AndersonFeb 14, 2012
The sentiment, just like the repeated shots of Jacky lying in the fetal position in a tub, shadowboxing, and erupting into a bestial 'roid rage, typifies the film's habit of flattening an idea rather than developing it. Read full review
42
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanFeb 22, 2012
Overheated yet bizarrely opaque criminal character study from Belgium. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineCalum MarshFeb 15, 2012
What Bullhead ultimately lacks isn't balls but insight and empathy. Read full review
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