Shadow Dancer
Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: May 31, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
71
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
5
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
IndieWireEric KohnMay 30, 2013
While not designed to entertain on the level of style and spectacle that one expects from a Bond film, this tense period drama from the director of "Man on Wire" presents a far more credible take on the daring exploits of British agents. Read full review
90
The New York TimesStephen HoldenMay 30, 2013
The movie takes no political positions. With an icy detachment, it peers through the fog of war and examines the slippery military intelligence on both sides to portray a world steeped in secrecy, deception and paranoia. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyApr 12, 2013
The story in itself is first-rate. However, it’s the very measured handling that makes it distinctive. Read full review
88
USA TodayClaudia PuigJun 6, 2013
This low-key and engrossing Belfast-based drama is as much a well-acted character study as it is a thriller about the conflict in Northern Ireland. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzJun 13, 2013
These are characters for whom true belief in a cause has probably become impossible; they know how much that costs. Marsh does a compelling job of illustrating that for the rest of us. Read full review
80
NPRIan BuckwalterMay 31, 2013
(Marsh) downplays political questions of ideological rights and wrongs. Rather than making a film about terrorism, or about war, Marsh looks at how they affect the people caught up in their machinery. Read full review
80
Village VoiceNick SchagerMay 28, 2013
The film rests on the desperate chemistry of a paunchy, weathered Owen and a tense, quietly ferocious Riseborough. Read full review
80
VarietyJustin ChangApr 12, 2013
Shadow Dancer is admittedly slow to gather force and momentum over its 101-minute running time, though by the third act, the deliberately paced drama has exerted a hypnotic grip. Read full review
80
Film.comApr 12, 2013
Like the political turmoil which inspired it, Shadow Dancer is fueled by the fire to do the right thing and the sacrifice that must follow, and for 100 minutes, it’s a crackerjack ordeal to behold. Read full review
80
Total FilmNeil SmithApr 12, 2013
An expertly calibrated drama confirming Marsh’s status as one of Britain’s most formidable filmmakers. Read full review
80
EmpireDan JolinApr 12, 2013
As beige as an old PC, but beneath the surface the blood pumps bright scarlet. An intelligent and emotionally charged spy drama. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesMary HoulihanJun 20, 2013
This is not an in-your-face thriller but rather a measured film ripe with suspense that never lets up. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubIgnatiyVishnevetskyMay 29, 2013
If there’s a political edge to this story, it’s in the understanding — implicit from early on — that this is a situation with no satisfying solution; eventually, someone is going to have to die. To that end, director James Marsh, best known for his documentaries "Man On Wire" and "Project Nim," crafts an atmosphere of tenuous dread. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineAndrew SchenkerMay 27, 2013
James Marsh carries forward the mood and menace of the opening into the balance of the work, perfectly matching his aesthetic strategies to the story's shifting moral terrain. Read full review
75
The PlaylistJohn LichmanApr 12, 2013
With a conclusion that arrives as an open-ended gut punch, you're not just left lingering with unanswered questions, but the sensation that James Marsh has delivered something truly special. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldConnie OgleJun 6, 2013
A decent thriller made better by good performances and an intriguing setting. Read full review
63
New York PostSara StewartMay 30, 2013
Still, the proceedings move so quietly and thoughtfully as to be occasionally somnolent, though they’re punctuated with spasms of the violence that marked the Troubles. Read full review
63
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreMay 28, 2013
Owen and Riseborough play their characters awfully close to the vest, not investing in anything that would allow this story to take the romantic or melodramatic turns we expect. But truthfully, that hamstrings the movie. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleMay 30, 2013
The character mechanics... leave the viewer always feeling a step ahead of the story and its too-late-to-excite twists. As a portrait of violence-riven motherhood, however, Riseborough gives Shadow Dancer most of its grave power. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawApr 12, 2013
Marsh's movie is calm, level, downbeat. The tension is subtle – perhaps subtler than it really should be. Read full review
50
ObserverRex ReedMay 28, 2013
Not everything from Ireland travels as well as the whiskey. Like mud-thick porridge, Shadow Dancer, another dreary, confusing conspiracy thriller about the Irish “troubles,” is one of them. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanMay 31, 2013
Riseborough once again transforms herself dramatically, expanding her role as best she can. But neither the hesitant script — adapted by Tom Bradby from his own novel — nor the sluggish tempo give her enough support. Read full review
40
Time OutDavid FearMay 28, 2013
There’s slow-burning, and then there’s simply slow; the difference between the two has never been so apparent. Read full review
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