Screen Daily by Lee Marshall

Perhaps the most impressive thing about a hugely impressive exercise in directorial control is the fact that we come away from an intensely violent film, a film where bones crunch and blood smells, touched by pathos and a strange sense of hope.

Screen International by Lee Marshall

Perhaps the most impressive thing about a hugely impressive exercise in directorial control is the fact that we come away from an intensely violent film, a film where bones crunch and blood smells, touched by pathos and a strange sense of hope.

The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw

A movie with incomparable bite and strength.

The Hollywood Reporter by Deborah Young

Though it has far less outright violence than Gomorrah, whose oppressive criminal atmosphere it shares, Matteo Garrone's Dogman is just as intense a viewing experience, one that will have audiences gripping their armrests with its frighteningly real portrayal of a good man tempted by the devil.

Film Threat by Filipe Freitas

Beautifully shot, this character study fascinates in an almost perverse way, building up adequate levels of tension throughout and bursting with disturbing scenes of violence. It is also a tale of solitude, equally tragic and funny, heavy and whimsical.

The Playlist by Jordan Ruimy

A hyper-realistic urban tragedy Dogman is ferocious and in its own way, much more frightening than “Gomorrah.”

Original-Cin by Liam Lacey

Dogman is essentially one long, twisted fuse burning toward an inevitable explosion. If the results are too conspicuously manipulated to feel cathartic, there’s no denying a certain dark poetry to this old-fashioned film with its whiplash of modern violence and bitter futility.

Time Out by Phil de Semlyen

Newcomer Fonte is terrific in the lead role, communicating Marcello’s meek protests with a twitchy physicality that grows slowly into a sketchy defiance.

The Telegraph by Robbie Collin

Dogman unfolds its relatively straightforward story with both thrilling style and serious moral force: it’s a sensation judged on either bark or bite.

Empire by David Parkinson

Abetted by Nicolaj Brüel's prowlingly ominous camerawork and Dimitri Capuani's soul-destroying interiors, Garrone proves once again that even the lowest-rung southern Italian gangster can't afford a shred of human decency.

The Observer (UK) by Wendy Ide

Fonte, who deservedly won the best actor prize at Cannes this year, is remarkable.

The A.V. Club by A.A. Dowd

The lead performance, from the mostly unknown Fonte, is a small symphony of crumbling ingratiation: the portrait of a good man trying to cling to his principles in the face of stubborn, selfish immorality.

Variety by Owen Gleiberman

Fonte, it must be said, gives an expert performance as a saintly scamp who “blooms” into a butterfly of vengeance. I might have bought what he’s doing in a different film, but the one that Garrone has made strains too hard to have it both ways.

CineVue by Martyn Conterio

Involving and well made, rather than something flat-out great and essential.

The Film Stage by Giovanni Marchini Camia

Garrone’s prowess as a director is still undeniable, and as far as nasty, gripping brutality goes, Dogman certainly delivers. If you’re looking for pulpy violence, you won’t be disappointed. Just don’t expend too much thought over what it’s all supposed to mean.

IndieWire by David Ehrlich

Subtle as a great dane, and less convincing than a show poodle that’s trying to pretend she’s an untamed stray, Dogman is an obvious and strained little movie.