40
Though the central performance is impressively raw Farming’s uncompromising bleakness drowns out the fascinating story, making it a far tougher watch than it needs to be.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
80
Told with raw emotion and lurid violence, it transforms elements of his life story into a disturbing, eye-opening coming of age drama.
60
The New York Times by Ben Kenigsberg
Farming is a mystery movie in which the author investigates himself — and doesn’t fully share the answers.
50
Los Angeles Times by Carlos Aguilar
Some distance between the source and the story would have benefited the themes at play, which end up buried beneath punches, slurs and bestial masculinity.
50
Unremittingly, bludgeoningly bleak in its portrayal of his own degradation and humiliation, and displaying only a passing interest in his eventual rehabilitation, the film is remarkable for its lack of self-pity, but it makes the experience of “Farming” a merciless one for the audience too.
60
The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw
Farming is a tough film on a tough subject. There’s not much light and shade – but there can’t have been much light and shade going through it in real life – and Gubu Mbatha-Raw’s role as the concerned teacher is weakly drawn.
60
It has a kernel of raw torment and an unforgiving streak that hints at still-unreconciled wounds, too. It’s not the best film of the year, but it’s definitely one of the most personal.
40
The Observer (UK) by Simran Hans
Enitan’s trauma is revelled in but for what? Few new truths are learned here. A rushed, redemptive montage towards the film’s end is presented as ickily aspirational.
50
The Hollywood Reporter by Stephen Dalton
Closely based on the director's own troubled youth, Farming is rooted in rich, complex, potentially gripping material. But Akinnuoye-Agbaje slaps this story together with so little subtlety, he ends up seriously diluting its dramatic power.