40
A strange and troubling little film, a hermetically sealed creep-fest that seems to have no desire to be anything more than just that.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
38
Slant Magazine by Andrew Schenker
A (relatively) tasteful and restrained approach to potentially lurid subject matter isn't necessarily any better than one that gives in freely to what might be seen as a filmmaker's baser impulses.
80
As horrifying and hard to watch as you'd expect a paedophile's-eye view of life to be. It's neither sensationalist nor trite, and the questions it asks are intelligent and thoughtful.
80
Brace yourself and go see it.
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Liam Lacey
Dreadful as the subject matter is, the authenticity of the performances and the skill of Schleinzer's filmmaking are difficult to deny in this portrait of a monster as the bland guy next door.
50
It's hard to make a movie about a pederast without being exploitative, and Michael eventually comes to feel like an art house stunt.
40
Village Voice by Nick Pinkerton
Not everything that is human is naturally interesting, and Schleinzer approaches his subject not as an investigator, but as though covering up a crime scene and scrubbing it of anything that might provide insight or empathy or psychological traction.
75
It's a chilling film about the routine business of unspeakable acts.
90
The New York Times by Stephen Holden
This coldly compelling film doesn't try to explain Michael's behavior or analyze his disease. As if doing penance for Michael's sins, it eventually metes out unequivocal punishment, but it is small consolation.