The Exploding Girl
Oscilloscope Pictures | Release Date: March 12, 2010 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
69
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
3
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
89
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
Kazan appears in every scene of The Exploding Girl’s perfectly paced 80 minutes, and you’d miss her if she ducked out for even a moment. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Gray has an artful, understated way of conveying what's going ?on inside, often simply by focusing his camera on Kazan. Read full review
80
Time OutJoshua Rothkopf
When you have an actor as suggestive as Kazan, swallowing up the lens with allure and complexity, your writer-director becomes superfluous. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsJoe Neumaier
This quietly poetic little gem contains many beautiful things, not least of which is leading lady Zoe Kazan, who lets every scene billow and swirl around her effortlessly. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Small scale though it is, this is a film that knows what it wants to do and has thought out exactly how to go about doing it. The same must be said about the luminous nature of Kazan's performance, which won best actress last year at the Tribeca Film Festival. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubNoel Murray
There isn’t much to The Exploding Girl, but it’s blessedly compact, and owns its no-big-deal-ness. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Despite its title, The Exploding Girl is an oddly tranquil experience. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianM. E. Russell
Kazan has a gift for letting you see her think, even when she's perfectly still; the film's title refers to the ferocious trauma happening between Ivy's ears and her silent struggle to keep it in check. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterNeil Young
The emotional detonations prove minor but movingly resonant in The Exploding Girl, an indie character study built four-square round Zoe Kazan's persuasive performance. Read full review
70
Village VoiceKarina Longworth
Girl is narratively slight, but aesthetically and psychologically complex. At times, it feels more like an illustrated audio collage than a movie. Read full review
63
New York PostLou Lumenick
Those who can hang on through the mumblecore-ish narrative languor of the nicely photographed The Exploding Girl will savor a very talented actress' sensitive portrait of youthful awkwardness. Read full review
50
VarietyLeslie Felperin
Both comely leads offer engaging presences, and there’s some pretty imagery, shot adequately on HD, but it’s all so slight and featherweight one viewer sneezing could blow it all offscreen. Read full review
50
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
The Exploding Girl can also make you feel bad about wishing that she were just a little more interesting. Read full review
40
Boxoffice MagazineJohn P. McCarthy
Further exploration of this psychological question might have made for a more substantial, less enervating artfilm. One less liable to be experienced as an approximation of cinematic waterboarding. Read full review
25
ObserverRex Reed
There is no hope on the horizon for movies as leaden as The Exploding Girl. Read full review
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