The Square 2008

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: A taut, well-executed if somewhat predictable riff on the murderous caper-that-goes-wrong theme that has anchored sexy, blood-stained crime pictures from The Postman Always Rings Twice to Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: The string-along, bad-to-worse nature of The Square affords a distinct, if sour, sort of satisfaction. Yet its construction is a thing of considerable soundness. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: There's a bit of everything in The Square, so much so that after a while it starts to feel generic. Read more

Tasha Robinson, AV Club: The occasional missteps (some overly precious symbolism, the grimy DV look) rarely get in the way of the film's many winces, gasps, and breathless, cringing anticipation. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: A perverse delight, the rare film that makes you feel good about feeling bad (or at least watching others do so). Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: The Square calls to mind the skin-tight dread of the Coen brothers' Blood Simple. If that movie remains the more rigorous cinematic achievement, The Square is a more richly ironic pleasure. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: Some have called this neo-noir, but aside from the setting there's nothing "neo" about it; as in classic noir, the characters are slowly but surely ensnared by their own baser impulses. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: The Square is a terrific film noir with an Aussie twist. Read more

Cary Darling, Dallas Morning News: The Square announces the arrival of a new talent worth watching. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: The Square is a morality noir in which there's very little onscreen morality. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: Things go from bad to worse to downright disastrous in the enthralling Australian import The Square. Read more

Amy Nicholson, I.E. Weekly: The moral can pivot on a dime: is this a karmic noir about consequences, or a nihilistic warning that even a simple scheme can't be controlled? Read more

Michael Ordona, Los Angeles Times: The angles don't quite meet in the key relationship between Ray and Carla. We're not sure what's between them -- love, lust, both or neither. That may be the filmmaker's intent, but it lowers the stakes. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: A starless but highly effec tive Aussie noir that marks the auspicious feature debut of stuntman and music-video director Nash Edgerton. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: The Edgertons are a clever pair, all right, even if The Square seems repetitive and sometimes a bit hackneyed. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: It's as if filmmaking brothers Joel and Nash Edgerton (Joel cowrote, produced and costars, Nash directed) sat down and said, "Let's watch these suckers wreck their lives, and the lives of everyone around them." Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: The Square moves with implacable logic toward catastrophe, as its desperate heroes try to squirm out of a tightening noose. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: The dramatic structure is familiar, but the characters don't fit neatly into the usual pigeonholes. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: The Square is a solidly constructed thriller with some missing pieces at the center but vivid splashes of color outside the lines. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: There isn't a character in The Square you can care about, beyond pity for their foolishness and exasperation with their greed. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: You wonder how the characters could be so inept about their dirty deeds. How did they get so badly in over their heads? It's almost Biblical in the way it metes out rough justice. Read more

Stephen Garrett, Time Out: All the genre's conventions -- femme fatale, shady goons, best-laid plans spiraling out of control -- have a proper amount of verve and flair to make the whole package feel almost fresh. Read more

Melissa Anderson, Village Voice: This Down Under noir confuses incoherent body pileups with "twists." Read more

Dan Kois, Washington Post: The Square suggests an exciting future for a pair of brothers with a dark view of pitiless fate. Read more