The Mustang
Focus Features | Release Date: March 15, 2019 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
77
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 36 Critic Reviews
Positive:
33
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
Watch Now
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Original-CinKim HughesMar 21, 2019
Quiet, understated and unforgettable, The Mustang is a winner by five lengths. Read full review
100
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleMar 20, 2019
We can only describe the result, which is that this director — in her first feature film — has the ability to synthesize emotions and ideas through pictures. She shows you something; it means something, and you know what it means. She has an emotion, so she shows you something else, and you feel it, too. Read full review
90
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternMar 14, 2019
Ms. De Clermont-Tonnerre’s direction is a revelation — not just a good first try, but a first-rate achievement by any measure. She clearly watched such relevant classics as “The Black Stallion” and “The Misfits,” yet found a laconic style that is all her own. Read full review
88
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliMar 29, 2019
An unconventional tale of redemption that earns its upbeat ending by not falling prey to every cliché of the genre or giving in to the temptation to become too maudlin or sentimental. Read full review
88
The Seattle TimesSoren AndersenMar 28, 2019
In the midst of that hostile physical and psychic landscape, de Clermont-Tonnerre has made a stringent tale of a struggle for redemption. Read full review
88
Philadelphia Daily NewsGary ThompsonMar 28, 2019
The small miracles that do occur in The Mustang feel real, and well–earned. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comTomris LafflyMar 15, 2019
The Mustang becomes an emotional powerhouse in its final act. Read full review
83
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerMar 23, 2019
The director has a good eye for semidocumentary detail, and the performances, which also include Bruce Dern as a veteran trainer, Gideon Adlon as Roman’s estranged daughter, and especially Jason Mitchell as a fellow inmate and trick rider, all have the sharp tang of authenticity. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubAllison ShoemakerMar 13, 2019
It’s all well-trod territory. And yet — and here’s another cliché — The Mustang breathes new life into most of those conventions, thanks in no small part to Schoenaerts and his remarkable work. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattMar 1, 2019
First-time feature filmmaker Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre brings a gorgeous, wide-open sparseness to her visual storytelling (it makes sense that Robert Redford, the original Sundance Kid, is listed as an executive producer), but it’s largely Schoenaerts’ movie to carry. Read full review
83
The Film StageDan MeccaJan 31, 2019
The prison drama is a well-worn sub-genre, ripe with predictive beats and expected narrative turns. Those behind this picture are determined to subvert those expectations, and the attempt–though not fully realized–is much appreciated. Read full review
80
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeSep 1, 2019
What’s particularly striking is an inventive sound design that tunes us in and out of the blood-pounding fury in Roman’s head – a place, we soon realise, which is not somewhere that’s comfortable to linger. Read full review
80
The GuardianCath ClarkeAug 30, 2019
Brilliantly, Schoenaerts almost underplays Roman’s anger, lumbering slowly like a wounded animal, the downward slope of his eyes conveying a howl of rage. It’s an electrifying performance. Read full review
80
SlateJeffrey BloomerApr 2, 2019
The Mustang, "The Rider," and "Lean on Pete" all end on fragile notes of hope for their central figures, even as their futures remain uncertain. The horses, notably, are less lucky. Equine counterparts in horse movies serve a variety of functions, but mostly as proxies for the heroes’ struggles and signals of their ultimate nobility. That is more or less true of The Mustang, and the movie’s final scene is a hair too literal in that respect. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBarbara VanDenburghMar 20, 2019
What seems primed to play out like a by-the-numbers social message movie with a classic redemption arc becomes something much more sophisticated, and much more challenging for the viewer. Schoenaerts' performance deserves much of the praise. Read full review
80
TheWrapRobert AbeleMar 16, 2019
The horses magnificently do their part, too, as co-stars in this redemption saga, mostly because de Clermont-Tonnerre gives them plenty of screen time to be irritable, sad, manic, desperate, but also begrudging, friendly, spirited, and at peace. Read full review
80
TimeStephanie ZacharekMar 14, 2019
You can probably guess every beat of The Mustang ahead of time, but what does that matter? The picture, shot by Ruben Impens, is gorgeous to look at. Read full review
80
Rolling StonePeter TraversMar 13, 2019
Clermont-Tonnerre comes from a place of defiance, and her fearless instincts surge through every frame. Each time you think you have this movie pegged, it’ll knock you for a loop. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranMar 11, 2019
Fascinating and frequently compelling, The Mustang is a hybrid, the unlikely combination of genres you wouldn’t think go together but are able to coexist thanks to an exceptional leading performance. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeFeb 7, 2019
De Clermont-Tonnerre shows admirable restraint, knowing that, in her carefully constructed frames, it can be enough just to get Roman's newly compassionate eyes into a close-up with the expressionless eye of a horse. Read full review
80
VarietyOwen GleibermanFeb 4, 2019
It’s a touching and original piece of bare-bones sentimental humanism, and Schoenaerts is terrific in it. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovMar 20, 2019
The Mustang, Clermont-Tonnerre’s impressive debut feature, is a slow-burning, tightly coiled character study of felony offender Roman Coleman (Bullhead’s Schoenaerts). Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreMar 28, 2019
Clermont-Tonnerre never surprises with The Mustang, but in stripping the story to elemental visuals that tell a simple, touching story, she’s announced herself as a cinematic storyteller to watch. Read full review
75
Washington PostAnn HornadayMar 27, 2019
Luckily, The Mustang overcomes its most predictable story beats thanks to de Clermont-Tonnerre’s intimate, unfussy style and a quietly captivating performance by Schoenaerts. Read full review
75
Boston GlobePeter KeoughMar 27, 2019
These men tend to be laconic, tormented, tattooed, impenetrable, usually bearded, potentially or actively violent, with screwed-up families and traumatic pasts. Nothing that a good horse couldn’t cure, or a talented female director. Read full review
75
New York PostSara StewartMar 19, 2019
It’s Schoenaerts, one of this generation’s finest actors, who makes The Mustang a moving look at human potential for redemption and rehabilitation. Read full review
75
The Associated PressLindsey BahrMar 13, 2019
But Clermont-Tonnerre has established herself as a filmmaker to watch with The Mustang, and has also made the most compelling case yet that Schoenaerts can not only handle an American accent, but excel with it too. Read full review
75
IndieWireDavid EhrlichFeb 1, 2019
A tense prison drama that’s penned into the trappings of a classic Western, The Mustang is a small movie about a subtle transformation, but its closing moments — however contrived they might be — are as touching as they are unexpected. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinMar 18, 2019
The Mustang brought the sensation back of having to slow down and breathe with a horse and in the process leave yourself behind. Any movie that makes leaving oneself behind so tactile and enticing is a horse of a different color. Read full review
70
The New York TimesManohla DargisMar 14, 2019
The Mustang is direct and almost perilously familiar — it draws from both westerns and prison movies — yet it is also attractively filigreed with surprising faces, unusual genre notes and luminous, evanescent beauty. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzMar 21, 2019
The strong cast keep their heads down and offer all the obligatory rhythms – if you hire Bruce Dern as a crabby horse-trainer, you are going to get exactly what you paid for – and the film eagerly embraces the purely filthy dullness of prison life. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsMar 14, 2019
The film’s impressive as far is it goes, and Schoenaerts is a fine actor with considerable emotional resources. But it’s exceedingly tidy in its beat-by-beat developments, and outside Roman and Marcus, the supporting character roster struggles to make an impression. Read full review
63
Slant MagazinePeter GoldbergMar 11, 2019
Single-minded and direct in its execution, the film is a hard look at the extremes of masculine guilt and healing. Read full review
60
The TelegraphTim RobeySep 2, 2019
The Mustang could have held more surprises, but as a landscape study – “Prison, with horses” – it’s ruggedly stunning. Read full review
60
Time OutJoshua RothkopfMar 15, 2019
Still, you can’t help but be swept up by the sincerity here — that and the sight of a hard man softening to a sympathetic nuzzle. (This is some excellent equine acting.) The Mustang is leagues beneath the recent "The Rider" or "Lean on Pete," both superior in terms of articulating silent human-animal relationships that fulfill larger psychological needs. Read full review
58
The PlaylistGregory EllwoodFeb 1, 2019
The initial inspiration was clearly there, but the execution simply falls short. Read full review
More From This Movie

77 Critic Reviews

6.7 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL