The Dark Horse
Broad Green Pictures | Release Date: April 1, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
77
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternMar 31, 2016
The Dark Horse brings Cliff Curtis back home, and he gives a performance that’s transcendent in more ways than one. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterMichael RechtshaffenNov 13, 2015
The Dark Horse is an emotionally potent story of redemption anchored by a heart-piercing lead performance from Cliff Curtis. Read full review
90
VarietyPeter DebrugeNov 13, 2015
The Dark Horse is as good a title as any for a film that takes an overplayed genre — the inspirational mentor story — and still manages to surprise, sneaking up to deliver a powerful emotional experience within a formula we all know by heart Read full review
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerApr 14, 2016
The cinematography is evocative – rainy, rich, gritty and raw, for this inspiring but not always pretty story – and Curtis is 100-per-cent watchable as a puffy, mumbling shuffler whose chess lessons double as life strategies. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyApr 7, 2016
Strategy combats chaos, strategy focuses people on one goal, and with strategy, winning is actually possible. That's what The Dark Horse is all about. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyDylan KickhamMar 31, 2016
How The Dark Horse differs from similar based-on-a-true-story dramas like "Remember the Titans" and "Freedom Writers" is the deeply personal focus on the mentor’s own family struggles and mental illness. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBarbara VanDenburghApr 14, 2016
Cliff Curtis is staggeringly good as Gen. Read full review
80
The New York TimesStephen HoldenMar 31, 2016
The movie partly resists the temptation to follow a predictable feel-good route to a fairy-tale ending. That said, it has enough conveniently timed little triumphs to send up warning signs. Read full review
80
CineVueBen NicholsonNov 16, 2015
The deft and highly emotive handling of his condition and the wider ramifications of his story make The Dark Horse a lot more than merely the against-the-odds chess story that it may initially appear to be. Read full review
80
EmpireDavid HughesNov 13, 2015
The heartfelt telling of a truly extraordinary true story with a mesmerising central performance. Read full review
80
Time Out LondonCath ClarkeNov 13, 2015
It’s a film with the texture and truth of life, and at its heart is a beautiful performance by Cliff Curtis, who never in a million years will be nominated for an Oscar, but deserves one. Read full review
75
Washington PostAnn HornadayApr 14, 2016
Despite its familiar, come-from-behind contours, the story brims with redemptive optimism that it comes by honestly, thanks to its extraordinary main character and the equally remarkable actor who plays him. Read full review
75
Boston GlobePeter KeoughApr 14, 2016
Dark Horse falls into the formula of underprivileged kids challenging the elites at their own game. But the outcome is never certain. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChroniclePeter HartlaubApr 7, 2016
There are several excellent performances, including Wayne Hapi as Potini’s hardened brother. But Curtis is the most memorable part of The Dark Horse. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineElise NakhnikianMar 28, 2016
Despite the occasional cliché, this film mostly feels as messy as life, and as movingly complicated. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleMar 31, 2016
If its wobbliness doesn't always serve its commanding central performance, the movie does mark a sensitive, low-key approach to outsiders of any kind, one that legitimizes their struggle without selling them as ready-made saints. Read full review
70
Village VoiceBilge EbiriMar 30, 2016
James Napier Robertson's film combines several potentially tired subgenres — the inspirational-teacher drama, the mental illness drama, and the gang thriller — but, helped immeasurably by Curtis's performance, makes something new out of them. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerMar 30, 2016
The Dark Horse may not entirely work as a film, but it has an unexpected amount of gritty idiosyncrasy on its side. Read full review
60
The GuardianBenjamin LeeNov 13, 2015
The script could have done without the odd bout of heavy-handed chess symbolism (“a king for a king”) but it’s a solidly entertaining drama with an intriguingly unconventional lead. Read full review
60
The TelegraphMike McCahillNov 13, 2015
Robertson gives himself and his actors time to ponder the board and build convincing relationships and tensions: he’s especially deft around his younger performers, allowing them to register as distinct, often defiant personalities. Read full review
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