Tom at the Farm
Amplify | Release Date: August 14, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
67
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
8
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
IndieWireEmily BuderSep 7, 2015
There's a dramatic cognitive dissonance at play, and Dolan takes for granted that the audience will be willing to suspend disbelief. That's where he missteps. In choosing not to build out Tom's psychological framework, Dolan risks alienating more than a few viewers. Read full review
90
The New York TimesStephen HoldenAug 13, 2015
Wildly entertaining, sexy and beautifully shot in the Canadian heartland. Read full review
88
Slant MagazineMatt BrennanAug 8, 2015
Its allegory for internalized homophobia, a gay man's perilous attraction to straightness itself, seems in this case deeply persona. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianMarc MohanAug 13, 2015
Starring in, directing and writing (in collaboration with Michel Marc Bouchard, on whose play it's based) a movie at Dolan's tender age is certainly a Wellesian accomplishment. All three actors are convincing, especially Cardinal as the cruel, manipulative Francis, and their characters' behavior feels authentic even when it's not logical. Read full review
80
TheWrapJames RocchiAug 17, 2015
Made of equal parts mourning and melancholy, mystery, and possibly madness, the striking Tom at the Farm showcases Dolan’s abundant talents at turning seemingly simple material into a taut, tough film. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawAug 13, 2015
The psychological thriller form has imposed on Dolan some discipline, and brought out his talent and energy. Read full review
80
The TelegraphRobbie CollinApr 3, 2014
[Dolan's] raised his craft, and made by far his best film yet. Read full review
80
Time Out LondonBen WaltersApr 1, 2014
It’s taut, creepy, compelling and sexy. And, apart from the location, it’s very much a Dolan film, focused on people testing the limits of their love for each other – and themselves. Read full review
80
VarietyGuy LodgeApr 1, 2014
It’s an improbably exciting match of knife-edge storytelling and a florid vintage aesthetic best represented by Gabriel Yared’s glorious orchestral score. Read full review
77
Film.comDavid EhrlichApr 1, 2014
If Tom at the Farm is occasionally impenetrable as a drama, it’s seldom less than gripping as an exercise in suspense, especially when Dolan’s precise sense of timing revitalizes otherwise familiar moments. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezAug 13, 2015
Despite moments of intense suspense and glints of bizarre horror, Tom at the Farm is ultimately a psychological thriller. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreAug 11, 2015
There’s intrigue, danger, fear and hope all clinging to Tom as he visits the farm. Read full review
75
ObserverRex ReedJul 29, 2015
Don’t miss Tom at the Farm, the latest controversy in the oeuvre of acclaimed French-Canadian actor-writer-director Xavier Dolan, who has been labeled the “enfant terrible of queer cinema.” Read full review
75
The PlaylistOliver LytteltonApr 1, 2014
It's certainly his best film. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriAug 15, 2015
Tom at the Farm, adapted by Dolan and Michel Marc Bouchard from Bouchard’s own play, has the outward trappings of a genre piece. And as such, it’s fairly suspenseful. But at heart, it’s still very much an Xavier Dolan film – ragged, explosive, and often moving. Read full review
70
Village VoiceSherilyn ConnellyAug 11, 2015
That the most vicious homophobes are often closet cases is not news, but Dolan seems less concerned with that self-evident fact and more about creating a mood of unease. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyAug 14, 2015
Strains to be a psychological thriller but its length (102 minutes) dissipates the tension that should be taut and compressed. Read full review
63
Washington PostAlan ZilbermanAug 13, 2015
It’s a claustrophobic drama that unfolds like a thriller, although its characters are so bizarre that sympathizing with them is difficult. Read full review
60
SlateLisa Wong MacabascoAug 20, 2015
Although Dolan has called it by far his most accessible film, Tom at the Farm is hardly paint-by-numbers. Read full review
60
Total FilmJames MottramApr 1, 2014
It’s wildly melodramatic, typified by the ear-assaulting score. But there’s something compelling about Dolan’s supreme self-confidence, even when misplaced. He takes risks – and that’s attractive. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Aug 12, 2015
As interesting as it is to see the filmmaker move out of his wheelhouse, Tom At The Farm is neither dramatically satisfying nor psychologically convincing. Something was clearly lost in its transition from stage to screen. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinAug 13, 2015
Tom at the Farm is strange, idiosyncratic tale that straddles a fine line between homoerotic camp and spider-and-fly thriller. Read full review
50
Screen DailyLee MarshallAug 13, 2015
In the end, for all the plot tension and genre tastiness –underlined by some acidic colour photography and lighting that plays up sickly yellows and purples – there’s just something a little too mannered about the exercise. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorAug 13, 2015
Broadening the original script out to a cinematic thriller of the prey-and-predator variety, Dolan’s direction is not imaginative enough to carry the day. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyApr 1, 2014
Less time spent fetishizing his own image and more on building credible character dynamics and psychological complexity might have helped make this film the dramatic equal of its technical craftsmanship. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJordan HoffmanAug 13, 2015
The movie can’t decide if it’s a drama about homophobia, a horror-tinged thriller or psychological surrealism. The cross-pollination makes for some nice-looking scenes. Ultimately, though, there’s a crop failure. Read full review
38
New York PostFarran Smith NehmeAug 12, 2015
The real thrills consist of one monologue brilliantly delivered by Manuel Tadros as a bar owner, and most of Gabriel Yared’s old-school orchestral score. Read full review
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