64
Metascore
12 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80The Hollywood ReporterDeborah YoungThe Hollywood ReporterDeborah YoungGuillermo Nieto's hand-held camerawork mimics Julia's nervous energy and keeps the audience locked up along with her, working in symbiosis with Federico Esquerro's forcefully realistic sound design.
- 80Time OutTime OutPart meticulous character study, part hyperrealist drama, Trapero’s film is as interested in documenting how such an institution functions on a day-to-day basis as he is in presenting the joys and pains of female cohabitation in such a confined space.
- 75New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoThe dimly lit, exquisitely composed cinematography, by Guillermo Nieto, adds to the draw of this highly recommended movie.
- 70The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenAlthough it is not a comedy, Lion’s Den is suffused with sense of life lived in the present. Even the grimmest moments are not exploited to instill fear and loathing.
- 63San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleSan Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleUnfortunately the movie is also a bit too long, and for long stretches it's about as entertaining as, well, a long stretch. Still, if this were one of those movie-review TV shows, I'd have to give Lion's Den a (tiny) thumb's up, for its aura of authenticity and for the ferocity of Gusman's commitment.
- 60The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawFrustratingly, the film tells us little about the crime itself and the denouement is a little unconvincing. The taste of sweat and fear is, however, real enough.
- 60EmpireDavid ParkinsonEmpireDavid ParkinsonToo many generic tropes for this downbeat, detached melodrama to convince as a work of social realism but a strong central performance and convincing depiction of the compartmentalisation of Argentina's women.
- 50VarietyJay WeissbergVarietyJay WeissbergSituated somewhere between neo-realist study and standard women in prison pic, Lion's Den too frequently wanders into common territories to make the material its own.
- 38Slant MagazineAndrew SchenkerSlant MagazineAndrew SchenkerAlthough the film is essentially contemplative, there’s little here worth contemplating.