Polisse
Sundance Selects | Release Date: May 18, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
74
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
19
Mixed:
6
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Boston GlobeWesley MorrisMay 24, 2012
The entire movie is pitched at a scream. But the screaming is more Janis Joplin, Axl Rose, or Mary J. Blige than Jamie Lee Curtis. All the tears I shed were hard-earned. So were all the laughing and clapping and eye-covering. In each case, it was involuntary. Read full review
90
The New York TimesA.O. ScottMay 17, 2012
The messiness of the film seems appropriate to its subject, which is the attempt to bring at least a measure of order - and even a touch of grace - to a chaotic and frequently ugly reality. Read full review
90
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternMay 17, 2012
What makes it such a singular experience is the convergence of fine acting, moral urgency and a willingness to linger on moments of great intensity. Read full review
88
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanMay 31, 2012
Polisse is hard to watch at times, but it's also hard not to. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie RickeyMay 24, 2012
The mosaic of cases and caseworkers is like a season of "The Wire" distilled into two hours. Read full review
83
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerMay 25, 2012
I wish the entirety of Polisse were as good as its parts, but perhaps its free-form, mood-swing approach was unavoidable, given the subject. The audience is put through the same wringer as the cops. Read full review
80
Total FilmMatt GlasbyJun 16, 2012
Based on genuine cases, the film reveals its horrors in a matter-of-fact manner, taking care to show the characters grasping every chance for laughter - however inappropriate - amid the grimness. Read full review
80
NPRMark JenkinsMay 22, 2012
As humane as it is disturbing. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesSheri LindenMay 18, 2012
Inspired by a documentary, the film is shot with vérité immediacy and beautifully acted by an outstanding ensemble. If not every piece of the puzzle delivers its intended impact, the movie as a whole gets under your skin, and the central characters resonate long after the screen goes dark. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsJun 15, 2012
Like "Gone, Baby, Gone," the French film Polisse succeeds by shifting the focus from the victims to the vigilant protectors. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianShawn LevyMay 31, 2012
Polisse won a jury prize at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, but it's only a patchwork success. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleMay 24, 2012
The style is documentary-like, in that it feels like life and that anything might happen. There is also a nice sense of being in the midst of the action and right there in the room with the characters. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertMay 23, 2012
I'm not sure I feel more at ease after seeing this prize-winning film about a child protection unit in Paris. No doubt a lot of children get protected, but the professional standards of the police sometimes seem inspired by TV cop shows, on which the plots center around the camaraderie of the cops. Read full review
75
New York PostV.A. MusettoMay 18, 2012
While never exploitative, Polisse can be extremely disturbing. Is it possible for a parent to mistreat a child in the ways shown here? Sad to say, the answer is yes. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubScott TobiasMay 16, 2012
The best moments of Maïwenn's Polisse, about the dedicated members of a Child Protection Unit in northern Paris, have the same quality, a fly-on-the-wall docu-realism that feels eerily like the real thing. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanMay 16, 2012
The film can be rambling and glib, yet it's no mere crime drama. It captures a middle-class French society that looks more humane than ours, but is just as messed up. Read full review
70
Village VoiceKarina LongworthMay 15, 2012
The strange, unsettling juxtapositions, even when mashing up the mawkish and mockery, are full of life. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerMay 12, 2012
Filmmaker-star Maiwenn's socially-minded film is packed with raw, visceral performances from an accomplished cast. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineJesse CataldoMay 13, 2012
Polisse has been compared to "The Wire," but beyond a shared interest in the Sisyphean nature of police work, the two are mostly comparable as inverses of each other. Read full review
60
EmpirePatrick PetersJun 11, 2012
Unsparing in its portrayal of the seedier side of French society, only Polisse's loose focus keeps it from matching The Class for emotional punch. It's still a worthy companion piece to TV police procedurals like Spiral. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanMay 17, 2012
If you're the type who unwinds by watching "The Wire" or "Law & Order: SVU," you might appreciate this grim procedural drama from French actress Maïwenn. There's no denying its power: It took home the Jury Prize at Cannes last year. But for most, Polisse will be tough going. Read full review
60
Time OutKeith UhlichMay 15, 2012
Polisse builds to one of the most hilariously misguided climaxes ever conceived; let's just say that this soapy symphony of squalor literally doesn't stick the landing. Read full review
60
VarietyBoyd van HoeijMay 12, 2012
Though rough edges are very much part of picture's fabric and charm, the current two-hour-plus edit is too choppy, with many sequences feeling rushed or underdeveloped. Read full review
60
Boxoffice MagazineRichard MoweMay 12, 2012
Actress and director Maïwenn Le Besco (a.k.a. Maïwenn) confounds expectations by drawing together a heart-thumping patchwork of dramas and emotions. Read full review
40
The GuardianPeter BradshawJun 16, 2012
A drama with interesting moments, but also some false notes and a wildly bizarre ending. Read full review
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