68
Metascore
13 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenUltimately lacks the epic dimension of "Y Tu Mamá También," but its vision of that awkward age when sex threatens to overwhelm everything else is acute enough to make everyone who has been there squirm with recognition.
- 80The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsThe A.V. ClubKeith Phipps"Adolesence can kill you," Birot has said in an interview. In a film that leaves the "you" intentionally vague, moment after moment she shows how.
- 80L.A. WeeklyPaul MalcolmL.A. WeeklyPaul MalcolmThe film's intimate camera work and searing performances pull us deep into the girls' confusion and pain as they struggle tragically to comprehend the chasm of knowledge that's opened between them.
- 75New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoIt includes abundant sex and full-frontal nudity, not to titillate but because it's needed to convey the inner sexual turmoil the girls are going through.
- 75New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanSensitive and thoughtful coming-of-age story.
- 70Los Angeles TimesKevin ThomasLos Angeles TimesKevin ThomasBirot is an engaging storyteller who can inspire luminous, spontaneous portrayals, but her ending is so drastic that it feels unearned, a note of bleakness struck merely for its own sake.
- 70Village VoiceLeslie CamhiVillage VoiceLeslie CamhiFalters when it takes a final, violent turn into melodrama.
- 50Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThe phrase "coming of age," when applied to movies, almost always implies sex, but Girls Can't Swim has nothing useful to say about sex (certainly not compared to Catherine Breillat's brilliant "Fat Girl" from last year), and is too jerky in structure to inspire much empathy from us.
- 50SalonCharles TaylorSalonCharles TaylorIt's a cynical way to pass time, the cynicism that comes from being presented with something you've seen a hundred times before.