The Night of the 12th
Ascot Elite Entertainment Group | Release Date: May 19, 2023 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
81
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangJun 9, 2023
The film’s refusal to tie up loose ends has already inspired comparisons to Bong Joon Ho’s “Memories of Murder” and David Fincher’s “Zodiac,” two of modern cinema’s great cold-case classics. Moll’s movie doesn’t leave behind the same deep, implacable chill of those earlier works, but its lingering rage and sorrow are no less easy to wave aside. Read full review
90
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriMay 19, 2023
Its real-world mysteries eventually become existential ones, but the film never stops sending chills up your spine. Read full review
90
The New York TimesNicolas RapoldMay 18, 2023
This is a refreshingly grounded, deceptively plain picture of crime-fighting as a grind of false leads, workplace fatigue and no closure. Read full review
90
Film ThreatBobby LePireMay 17, 2023
The Night Of The 12th will emotionally exhaust audiences and get under their skin with its haunting ending. Read full review
90
Screen DailyLisa NesselsonMar 1, 2023
A deft and satisfying police procedural in command of its unusual tone, The Night of the 12th (La Nuit du 12) is perfectly cast and constructed with quietly thrilling rigour. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyMay 19, 2023
There's more going on here than meets the eye. The Night of the 12th runs deep. The film's effectiveness lies in its matter-of-fact surface and its roiling wordless interior, the stealthy way it makes its points (without announcing "This is The Point"). Read full review
80
Time OutPhil de SemlyenMar 31, 2023
Thanks to its pointed message about violence against women and injustice, this is a thriller with even sharper edges. Somewhere beneath its enthralling depiction of obsessive police work is a cry from the heart against a broken system. Read full review
80
The Irish TimesTara BradyMar 31, 2023
By relocating a Parisian crime to the French Alps, Moll and his cinematographer Patrick Ghiringhelli visibly stifle Yohan’s frustrated inquiries. The comings and goings among the gruff, macho unit are not particularly interesting. But The Night of the 12th, which was nominated for 10 César Awards, winning in six categories, including best picture, is otherwise absorbing. Read full review
80
EmpireHelen O'HaraMar 30, 2023
The long and devastating fallout from a senseless act of violence affects almost everyone in this compelling reality-inspired account, which lingers in the mind in a way that few crime stories do. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawMar 28, 2023
Memories of Murder actually inspired a solution to its case; perhaps The Night of the 12th could do the same. Either way, it’s a brutally engrossing drama. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerMar 1, 2023
This taut and piercing thriller is one of Moll’s stronger works to date, using a genre template to delve into issues of violence, gender and policing in contemporary France. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreJul 30, 2023
That warhorse genre “the police procedural” earns a fresh look with the French drama The Night of the 12th, an uncommonly sensitive inside-view of a grim case and its toll on the friends and family of the victim and the increasingly frustrated detectives working it. Read full review
75
The Film StageEthan VestbyMay 19, 2023
It’s almost bold of director Dominik Moll and screenwriter Gilles Marchand to center their film so much around both the male perspective and flawed, albeit noble cop protagonists, and intriguing how Night of the 12th flips this on its head by having them get lost in the abyss of the case by simply feeling like bureaucrats. Read full review
70
VarietyOwen GleibermanMay 5, 2023
The Night of the 12th is a mostly compelling sit, though what lends the film its singular texture is that it keeps tricking us into thinking it’s a more conventional thriller than it is. Read full review
60
Little White LiesSaskia Lloyd GaigerApr 2, 2023
It’s a satisfying film, even though it lacks closure. Nothing is unnecessary or over the top – so Moll doesn’t push the boat out. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineChris Barsanti
The film wants for deeper characterizations or a closer detailing of criminal procedure. Read full review
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