Metacritic Movie Ratings
We Need to Talk About Kevin Reviews

A sample of reviews from critics across the country.

• 100

  out of 100

  Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert

  As a portrait of a deteriorating state of mind, We Need to Talk About Kevin is a masterful film.

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• 100

  out of 100

  Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan

  It's a domestic horror story that literally gets to us where we live, a disturbing tale told with uncompromising emotionality and great skill by filmmaker Lynne Ramsay.

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• 90

  out of 100

  VarietyLeslie Felperin

  An exquisitely realized adaptation of Lionel Shriver's bestselling novel. In a rigorously subtle performance as a woman coping with the horrific damage wrought by her psychopathic son, Tilda Swinton anchors the dialogue-light film with an expressiveness that matches her star turn in "I Am Love."

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• 88

  out of 100

  ReelViewsJames Berardinelli

  A meditation on the pain suffered by a mother when her child turns out to be a monster, We Need to Talk about Kevin is the perfect tonic for holiday cheer.

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• 80

  out of 100

  The New York TimesA.O. Scott

  Ms. Ramsay, with ruthless ingenuity, creates a deeper dread and a more acute feeling of anticipation by allowing us to think we know what is coming and then shocking us with the extent of our ignorance.

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• 70

  out of 100

  The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt

  This is, in a way, a real horror film about everyday things and a disconnected family.

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• 67

  out of 100

  Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman

  The movie is creepy, but it has no texture or depth. It's like "The Omen" directed by Miranda July.

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• 30

  out of 100

  Village Voice

  By treating Kevin's evil as a mystery to be solved, Ramsay only succeeds in making what was once allusive banal.

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