The Holy Girl
Fine Line Features | Release Date: April 29, 2005 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
77
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews
Positive:
20
Mixed:
1
Negative:
1

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
VarietyDeborah Young
A mystifying film that holds the audience in suspense over where it's going and what it might mean for almost its entire running time. Read full review
100
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Superbly cast, evocatively directed. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
The blessings of salvation have rarely felt so mixed, the parameters of Lolita-hood so elusive - which is exactly Martel's specialty. Read full review
90
The New York TimesDana Stevens
The Holy Girl may occasionally frustrate your desire for clarity and order, but in the end it will reward your patience, and you leave the theater in a state of quiet awe. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
A collection of beautifully acted encounters, conversations, symbols, and vignettes woven into an evocative and unforgettably surreal garment. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Takes a potentially explosive subject and does it subtly and perceptively. Read full review
83
Seattle Post-IntelligencerGianni Truzzi
The film's wealth in themes provokes unsettling thought, even as it feels meager in thesis. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
Gets its hooks into you in ways that are hard to explain or to ignore. Read full review
80
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
Not the least remarkable thing about this deadpan, deceptively haphazard ensemble comedy, a movie as much choreographed as directed, is the way that--at the final moment--the mist simply evaporates. Read full review
80
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
It's a marvelously acted film, driven by a sweaty-palmed, exponentially mounting tension. Read full review
80
L.A. Weekly
It's a style at once ravishing and mysterious, austere and intimate, carrying with it the suggestion that even cinema may be powerless to invade the most clandestine antechambers of human behavior. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
A subtle artist and a sharp observer, Martel manages a large cast with an ease that matches her skill at storytelling, within which psychological insight and social comment flow easily and implicitly. Read full review
80
Washington PostStephen Hunter
It's a document that suggests that the road to hell is paved with bad communication skills. Read full review
80
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Adjusting to Martel's style requires patience, but her indirection pays dividends, culminating in an unforgettable final shot that flies in the face of narrative expectations. Read full review
75
New York PostV.A. Musetto
The Holy Girl ends without resolution, but one isn't needed in this mature, thoughtful drama. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
A film that leaves cinephiles breathless and the mainstream movie maniacs scratching their heads. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
A hauntingly lyrical study of sexual awakening. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
Young and bold and bristling with talent, Argentine director Lucrecia Martel has continued right where she left off in her feature debut. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
As Martel points out, the movie is about the "difficulties" and "dangers" of "differentiating good from evil," and it requires as well as rewards a fair amount of alertness from the viewer. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Alche has an amazingly expressive face and becomes such a magnetic presence that you'll feel a distinct need to rescue her. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
In stripping her potentially lurid material of salacious appeal, Martel also makes it murky and oddly arid, a mind-numbing exercise rather than an experience. Read full review
30
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
Feels like something I know is supposed to be good for me, but that I just couldn't stomach. Read full review
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