40
Stahl plays just one note: anguish. You know things are bad when the most interesting character, the menacing brute Bill Sykes, is never heard or seen on-screen.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
40
The New York Times by Dave Kehr
In both Twist and "Idaho," the act of placing a larger-than-life literary figure in a constrained, narrowly naturalistic environment merely strips the characters of their scale and interest.
70
Shot on location in subdued colors, Twist offers much less hope for its troubled characters than Dickens did. Its very downbeat vision may turn off auds, which is a pity because the film has a great many qualities, not least the admirable performances of Stahl, Close and Pelletier.
63
New York Daily News by Elizabeth Weitzman
Unfortunately, despite some strong performances, the movie never really makes a case for its own existence.
40
A stripling of 24, Tierney has a very young man's immature passion for unrelieved misery, which borders at times on the tedious, at others on the downright comical.
30
The Hollywood Reporter by Frank Scheck
Even more egregious than the film's concept is its execution, as it somehow manages to make scenes of drug addiction, hustling and even brotherly incest quite tedious.
25
New York Post by Jonathan Foreman
More tedious than affecting.
40
Tierney's so-serious script lacks any trace of humor, which might actually have made this depressing film feel a bit more real.
70
Los Angeles Times by Kevin Thomas
Under Tierney's admirably low-key, unexploitative direction all his actors are memorable and never seem to be acting. Twist is decidedly dark but consistently engaging.
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Rick Groen
It's a mini-masterwork of acting. Stahl is definitely one to watch closely -- he's the real deal. But the emerging plot isn't.