IndieWire by Jude Dry
Tightly written and sensitively rendered, the devastating film is propelled by masterful performances, led by a bewitching Wood in the role she was born to play.
Critic Rating
(read reviews)User Rating
Director
Jason Sanchez
Cast
Evan Rachel Wood,
Julia Sarah Stone,
Denis O'Hare,
Maxim Roy,
Joe Cobden
Genre
Thriller,
Drama,
Romance
Tormented by the abuse of her past, Laura struggles to find love and stability. Her beacon of hope comes in sixteen year-old Eva, a talented pianist who is disillusioned by the life her mother imposes upon her. In light of Eva's unhappiness, Laura convinces her to runaway to her house. Soon enough, they find themselves caught in an intense, precarious relationship with each other.
IndieWire by Jude Dry
Tightly written and sensitively rendered, the devastating film is propelled by masterful performances, led by a bewitching Wood in the role she was born to play.
The Playlist by Lena Wilson
It’s a well-made, gutsy film. So, if you can withstand the whole soul-crushing feature, you’ll probably be glad you stuck it out. If “glad” is an emotion you can still feel afterward.
The Film Stage by Jared Mobarak
We’re shown damning cycles feeding on each other that prove worse when their hypocrisy and irony is acknowledged. And both Wood and Stone will make you scream and cry depending on what they allow or ignite.
Variety by Owen Gleiberman
A Worthy Companion is a lacerating snapshot of what abuse really does: how it can tear away someone’s identity.
ReelViews by James Berardinelli
Despite a threadbare screenplay featuring overfamiliar motifs, the movie gains traction as a result of a committed, riveting performance by Evan Rachel Wood.
RogerEbert.com by Susan Wloszczyna
Wood, whose whippet-thin appearance in this dank noir-ish drama semi-draped in mystery could be described as Kristen Stewart lite, fully dedicates herself to embodying a rather unpleasant and contradictory character as she attracts her prey and then goes about abusing them physically and emotionally.
Los Angeles Times by Katie Walsh
Allure is powered by Wood's intense charisma. Laura deploys her magnetic gaze as a weapon, though the destruction she wreaks is most often directed at herself. The character's situation is always untenable, and as it collides with inevitability, the co-writer-director Sanchez brothers lose the tight grip of control they've maintained over the story.
The Hollywood Reporter by Jon Frosch
Sluggish and somber, with nary a wink, chuckle or sigh of relief to mitigate the misery, the film is a slog. That's unfortunate, because the writer-directors have a strong visual sense, and, in Wood, a magnetic lead.
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Kate Taylor
The drama is memorable but often feels grimly unpleasant rather than moving. And, as always, it’s frustrating to see Montreal cast as some anonymous and unilingual North American city.
The New York Times by Glenn Kenny
The filmmakers seem less concerned with telling a story than in convincing the audience (and maybe themselves) that they can handle this provocative and potentially exploitive material they’ve contrived with what’s conventionally considered “appropriate” sensitivity.
Slant Magazine by Derek Smith
Evan Rachel Wood and Julia Sarah Stone have a natural chemistry together that brings a feverish and unsettling intensity to their characters' tumultuous relationship, but there's no reprieve from the dour tone of the film.
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