Knuckle 2011

Critics score:
95 / 100

Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes

James Rocchi, MSN Movies: Knuckle is a curiously riveting work. Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: While it's frustrating that Mr. Palmer doesn't dig deep into the complexities of the fights, one of the movie's strengths is the honesty with which he confesses his doubts about them. Read more

David Fear, Time Out: Simply showing generations of pasty, fat men pounding each other to a pulp shouldn't be mistaken for an in-depth exploration of Gaelic machismo... Read more

Alison Willmore, AV Club: Knuckle is a documentary about feuding families of Irish Travelers who settle their grudges with bare-knuckle boxing matches, so it's bound to be inherently fascinating, regardless of how well it's assembled. Read more

Stephen Farber, Hollywood Reporter: The fighters hit hard, and so does the movie. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: Though you will wish for more polish and insight, its unruly action is hard to resist. Read more

Scott Tobias, NPR: Knuckle largely skirts exploitation, simply by virtue of showing this conflict perpetuate itself over so many years. Clans like the Quinn McDonaghs and the Joyces seem destined to fight for generations after they've forgotten their rationale. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: While the film becomes slightly redundant, the anger and strife its characters cannot overcome is awful, poetic and, frankly, astonishing. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: Palmer's film is brutally compelling to look at, as the lads get down to face-rearranging, but it also carries a lot of tragic historical freight. Read more

Trevor Johnston, Time Out: Testosterone at its most tragic. Read more

Justin Chang, Variety: As a bruising study in masculine temperament and the ways in which cycles of violence can be controlled and mediated -- yet also perpetuated and inflamed -- in a public arena, pic is unavoidably compelling stuff. Read more

Nick Schager, Village Voice: Palmer's grainy, handheld camerawork won't win any aesthetic prizes, but it's in tune with his subject. Read more