74
Metascore
20 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Slant MagazineDiego SemereneSlant MagazineDiego SemereneTomboy is one of those little big films whose simplicity and concision suggest the excess of meaning that language (cinematic or otherwise) could never account for.
- 91Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumThe startling power of Tomboy, a beautiful, matter-of-fact French drama about a young girl who wants to be a boy - and for one singular summer around her 10th birthday passes as one - begins with the one-of-a-kind natural performance by Zoé Héran as Laure.
- 83The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayIt's so much fun that as Tomboy moves toward its conclusion, the inevitable end of Héran's days as Mikael feels like watching someone die.
- 80Time OutDavid FearTime OutDavid FearTomboy may add little to conversations about gender or sexuality. It has everything to say, however, about that period of childhood when identity is at its most malleable.
- 80Village VoiceMelissa AndersonVillage VoiceMelissa AndersonTomboy astutely explores the freedom, however brief, of being untethered to the highly rule-bound world of gender codes.
- 80MovielineMovielineLaure is pleasingly uncute, with a gruff demeanor that gives way to affecting glimpses of vulnerability.
- A pre-pubescent "Boys Don't Cry" with a much sweeter tone, this thoughtful French comic drama follows Laure (Zoé Héran), a 10-year-old girl who yearns to be a boy.
- 70The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisThe story that emerges is programmatic and largely unsurprising, but these children give it messiness, joy and life.
- 60EmpireAnna SmithEmpireAnna SmithA tender, sensitive French drama rich in hazy atmosphere.
- 40New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierNew York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierIts young heroine is proud to be herself; there's just not much for her to do beyond that.