58
Metascore
10 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70VarietyDennis HarveyVarietyDennis HarveyA satisfying wartime espionage drama focused on little-noted intersections between Arabic emigres and the French Resistance.
- 70The New York TimesA.O. ScottThe New York TimesA.O. ScottHilali and Benghabrit were real people. Mr. Ferroukhi, who wrote the script with Alain-Michel Blanc, deftly interweaves their stories with the adventures of the fictional Younes, and so contributes a worthy and interesting chapter to the tradition of World War II dramas of conscience.
- It's an uplifting tale, if one that gets to a slow start and muddles through scenes of exposition for longer than seems necessary before finally getting to its sequences of action and suspense.
- 63New York PostKyle SmithNew York PostKyle SmithAs a French Resistance thriller, Free Men is so-so, but it is driven by a mischievously interesting idea: that Muslims and Jews have more in common than they normally allow.
- Worth a look, though it's unfortunately a far too academic affair that never surges with the suspense of many a WWII drama.
- 60Time OutDavid FearTime OutDavid FearConsider the movie a testament to Rahim's screen presence. If nothing else, Free Men proves that the can't-take-your-eyes-off-him charisma the Franco-Algerian actor displayed in Jacques Audiard's "A Prophet" was no fluke.
- 58Christian Science MonitorChristian Science MonitorThe film benefits greatly from Rahim's subtle, effective performance.
- 50Slant MagazineMichael NordineSlant MagazineMichael NordineFor much of its runtime, the film is simply there, decent for the most part, but at no point immersive.
- 50Village VoiceVillage VoiceFree Men never feels like a movie about a developing conscience, due largely to the shallowness of the protagonist as written and, by extension, Rahim's portrayal.
- 50Boston GlobeMark FeeneyBoston GlobeMark FeeneyNobility with little pacing, imagination, or energy tends not to work too well on the screen. Rahim has the eyes of the young Mandy Patinkin. If only he had some of the wildness.