53
Metascore
16 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlVillage VoiceAlan ScherstuhlDavid M. Rosenthal's sturdy, nasty rural noir, based on Matthew F. Jones's novel, is so sharp and rusted through that, after taking it in, you'll likely need a tetanus shot.
- 80Los Angeles TimesSheri LindenLos Angeles TimesSheri LindenThe film charts no new territory but is terrifically cast and, like its source novel, long on atmosphere.
- 75Slant MagazineNick SchagerSlant MagazineNick SchagerContent to faithfully hew to convention, A Single Shot rarely surprises, but its portrait of foolishness and fallibility, and its atmosphere of inevitable doom, remain sturdy and captivating.
- 70The DissolveJen ChaneyThe DissolveJen ChaneyIts ongoing reveal of interconnected, rough-edged characters, as well as a tone that’s a twangy, noirish brew of the Coen brothers, Alfred Hitchcock, and Winter’s Bone, are ultimately what make the movie unsettling and absorbing.
- 70Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzArizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzA Single Shot never rises to the level of a great film like “Winter’s Bone,” which digs much deeper in its depiction of life in the hills among the desperate poor. But thanks largely to Rockwell, it’s not bad, either.
- 60Time OutStephen GarrettTime OutStephen GarrettRockwell’s performance is impressively flinty, as is the rest of the cast (including William H. Macy delivering some twitchy character work), and the dialogue sparkles with brilliantly colorful mountain-man slang. Despite its byzantine narrative, the film remains never less than absorbing, as the walls slowly close in on this good-hearted but ultimately flawed protagonist.
- It’s largely just an opportunity for the actors to try on Ozark-y mannerisms, swig moonshine, and hock loogies. And like most exercises in authenticity, it couldn’t be more inauthentic if it tried.
- 40New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanWho would have guessed that sex, drugs and double-crossing could be so unrelentingly boring?