Lorna's Silence
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: July 31, 2009 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
80
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
24
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
New York PostV.A. Musetto
The androgynous Dobroshi is in nearly every scene. She has an exceptional screen presence that brings authority to her portrayal of a woman seeking redemption. As for the Dardennes, they prove yet again that nobody does human frailty the way they do. Read full review
100
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
A gritty, deceptively low-key, no-fuss, no-frills movie of consistent originality and surprise in which suspense arises straight up from the heroine's evolving character. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
A stunning study of one desperate woman's conscience. Read full review
90
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
Lorna's Silence is engrossing and powerful, which may be just another way of saying it's a film by the Dardenne brothers. If it falls a bit short of the standards of their best work, that is only because it is not quite a masterpiece. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Renier’s performance is the best thing in the movie, although all the actors, cast partly for their faces, are part of creating this desperate world. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeTy Burr
The Dardennes resist the expected cliches: The climactic scenes gather force and purpose and the movie seems headed for a breakthrough of some sort, but then it glides softly and unexpectedly to a halt. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
On a deeper level, the Dardennes' film offers a portrait of a fragile yet determined woman set on making a home for herself in the world, even as that world unravels before her eyes. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubSam Adams
Lorna's Silence feels like a refinement, even a repetition, of earlier themes. But the brothers are repeating themselves at such a high level that the redundancies are more than welcome. Read full review
83
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
By Dardenne standards this plot is pretty pulpy and unconvincing, but I rather enjoyed watching them attempt to twist it into an existentialist pretzel. Read full review
80
VarietyJustin Chang
The film doesn't pack the same cumulative wallop as the brothers' earlier work, but its low-key artistry, immaculate construction and fine performance by relative newcomer Arta Dobroshi should rouse the usual fest acclaim and arthouse interest. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Like earlier Dardenne films, Lorna’s Silence is naturalistic, yet this one, beautifully shot in 35 mm film by Alain Marcoen, achieves a poetry of bereftness. Read full review
80
SlateDana Stevens
Something between a love story and a religious morality tale. The hauntingly ambiguous last scene, in which Lorna finds a place of temporary respite from the economic forces that have determined so much of her life, may be the saddest happy ending I've ever seen. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Lorna's sudden change of heart is a pointed example of what the Dardenne brothers' movies are all about. Capitalism may seem at times like a raging river, but every day, all over the world, people try to make it flow in the opposite direction. Read full review
80
Washington PostJohn Anderson
While the Dardennes may be moralists, they are also makers of thrillers: The story within Lorna' Silence is built on tiny increments of tantalizing details, meted out in penurious droplets and with chest-tightening tension that suggests that what the brothers wanted to be when they grew up were boa constrictors -- Belgian boas, with degrees in Marxist theory. Read full review
75
NPRMark Jenkins
Watching Lorna's attempt to balance self-interest and empathy can be heartbreaking. If Lorna's Silence as a whole doesn't rank among the Dardennes's best, it does follow the money to moments and characters that are unforgettable. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
Ultimately, this is not one of the Dardennes' masterpieces. They've made a few of those, but the effect of Lorna's Silence is more modest. It leaves the audience with neither a sense of uplift nor devastation, but, rather, with something more akin to intellectual appreciation. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
If you’re new to the Dardennes, Lorna’s Silence will serve as a fine introduction. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
Upbeat it ain't, but when the light fades from the final frame, there remains something unusual in the Dardennes canon – the possibility of an escape from futility's clutches, and a reason for hope that might, just might, be more than an illusion. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchCalvin Wilson
This isn't just another crime story, and it would be misleading to suggest that it has anything to do with stylish gunplay, exhilarating car chases or brutal fistfights. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianMarc Mohan
Among the Dardennes' more accessible films, despite a drawn-out finale that still doesn't quite satisfy. Read full review
70
Village VoiceNick Pinkerton
The Dardennes retain a company of returning players: Jérémie Renier, Fabrizio Rongione, and Olivier Gourmet. Such loyalty is rare and touching. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Echoes long after the movie ends. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Lorna's Silence doesn't work, but it's a beautiful misfire. Read full review
63
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike Scott
It boasts strong acting and a nice dose of suspense. Read full review
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