85
Metascore
18 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90The Hollywood ReporterJourdain SearlesThe Hollywood ReporterJourdain SearlesDark, unnerving and thrilling, The Novice is poised to become a genre-breaking success. A film this raw made with such a steady, assured hand only comes along once in a while. We should take notice.
- 90The New York TimesTeo BugbeeThe New York TimesTeo BugbeeFuhrman’s performance matches the filmmaking for its intensity. The movie achieves a surreal allure — at times, it’s hard to pay attention to the dialogue because the images and the sound design are already communicating so much.
- 89TheWrapRonda Racha PenriceTheWrapRonda Racha PenriceWhat’s absolutely clear is Hadaway’s stunning eye and control of the camera. Her direction is not just steady but highly evocative, and the cinematography from Todd Martin, making his feature debut after shooting dozens of shorts and music videos, is just breathtaking. What a wonderful debut from them both.
- 83IndieWireKate ErblandIndieWireKate ErblandIt’s Furhman, steadily building Alex from the inside out, even as she’s crumbling around her, that adds the most tension and intensity to the film, offering a fully realized performance in a story all about the pain of realizing how much further you have to go.
- 80Film ThreatAlex SavelievFilm ThreatAlex SavelievHadaway indicts this country’s misguided preoccupation with being first, scrutinizing America’s twisted values via the prism of her uber-competitive protagonist. As a result, The Novice officially claims the title of The Best Film About Rowing Ever Made.
- 80SlashfilmHoai-Tran BuiSlashfilmHoai-Tran BuiFuhrman’s performance is so unhinged, and Hadaway’s direction is so merciless, that The Novice constantly dances on the edge of character drama and full-fledged horror movie. It’s an impressive feat of incisively dark tone, even if the plot and characters are little more than shadows.
- 75Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreFuhrman’s polished intensity draws us in, even if we’re repelled a bit by this young woman who will not give herself “a break,” at anything.
- 75The A.V. ClubCraig D. LindseyThe A.V. ClubCraig D. LindseyThe filmmaker, who also co-edited The Novice, depicts Alex’s freshman year in quick-cutting, frenetic, anxiety-ridden fashion, with composer Alex Weston’s string-heavy score properly ratcheting up the tension and Fuhrman gamely acting like a harried but dedicated ball of nerves.
- 70Screen DailyTim GriersonScreen DailyTim GriersonEven when The Novice stumbles, Hadaway hits on something disquieting about a culture that places such a burden on young people to be great that they put themselves through punishing extremes.
- 63Slant MagazineMark HansonSlant MagazineMark HansonAt its best, the film suggests some kind of hellish Nike commercial, where “just do it” becomes less an inspirational motto than a grueling portent of doom.