Manodrome
Grindstone Entertainment Group | Release Date: November 10, 2023 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
48
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 13 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
8
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Slant MagazineChris BarsantiFeb 22, 2023
While John Trengrove’s skill is apparent in the slow build of tension, it also stands out in the arguably more impressive way that he holds Ralphie’s view of the world separate from that of the film’s. Read full review
75
ColliderMarco Vito OddoFeb 18, 2023
While Manodrome doesn't always manage to keep steady pacing, it still serves as a unique character study for Jesse Eisenberg's angry and destructive young man. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerNov 8, 2023
It's Eisenberg who finds Ralphie in those narrative spaces, creating a whole and crushingly convincing portrait of a profoundly lost man, and the damage left in his wake. Read full review
67
The Film StageRory O'ConnorMar 9, 2023
The subcultures in Manodrome are ostensibly a work of fiction but, exaggerated as they may be, are no less plausible or rife with intrigue. Read full review
58
IndieWireChristian ZilkoNov 10, 2023
With the help of a hideous haircut, Eisenberg gives a convincing performance as a repressed loser who never discovered who he is and has officially run out of time to start. But Trengrove’s script is as directionless as his protagonist. Read full review
58
The PlaylistRafaela Sales RossFeb 18, 2023
If the script plunges into the frustrating waters of predictability, Manodrome finds some solace in the asserted cast. Read full review
50
Screen RantAlex HarrisonNov 16, 2023
Manodrome lacks depth as either social commentary or character study, in large part because of how it positions us in relation to its protagonist's perspective. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperNov 9, 2023
The callbacks to “Taxi Driver” and, on a lesser level, “Fight Club” are many in South African writer-director John Trengrove’s well-shot but heavy-handed and depressingly obvious Manodrome, a blunt indictment of toxic masculinity that strikes mere glancing blows and packs a relatively soft punch. Read full review
50
Screen DailyNikki BaughanFeb 18, 2023
Eisenberg impresses in a role which requires him to keep a great deal beneath the surface. But the screenplay locks up some elements of his character rather too tight and, as dramatic motivations for what follows, they are unpersuasive and somewhat cliched. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyFeb 18, 2023
What Ralphie goes through over the course of this absorbing enough but bludgeoning portrait of corrosive masculinity makes him both victim and monster. Read full review
40
The New York TimesBeatrice LoayzaNov 9, 2023
Crude and sensationalizing, Manodrome is like an amalgam of all the headlines you’ve read about the kinds of men who succumb to warped ideologies. Read full review
40
VarietyPeter DebrugeFeb 18, 2023
The characters feel thin, the secret society seems implausible and its goals too vague to capture the imagination. “Manodrome” taps into a deep unease at play in the wider world, but it presents only the shell of an idea, focusing on a not-terribly-interesting character with only the haziest of goals. Read full review
38
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoNov 10, 2023
The cast gives their all, but the film ultimately has nothing to offer. Read full review
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