The A.V. Club by Noel Murray

Bullhead is well-plotted, with a powerful ending, but its most brutal scene comes early, explaining why for Schoenaerts, life has been one long wince.

The Hollywood Reporter by Natasha Senjanovic

The actor literally takes the metaphors of his bull-headed character to the limits and is never less than believable or mesmerizing.

Los Angeles Times by Kenneth Turan

An intense, shattering film, a confident and accomplished, punch-in-the-gut debut by Belgian writer-director Michael R. Roskam that starts out like a thriller and turns into a disturbing tragedy in an unlikely and unexpected key.

Slate by Dana Stevens

It's Schoenaerts' magisterial presence that carries the film. In between bursts of convincingly horrific violence (including a fight in an elevator that makes Ryan Gosling's in "Drive" look like a schoolyard tiff), Schoenaerts also shows himself capable of moments of great subtlety and delicacy.

Boxoffice Magazine

An impressively dark and well-crafted crime tale about, of all things, cattle farming and "the hormone mafia underworld."

Boxoffice Magazine by Kate Erbland

An impressively dark and well-crafted crime tale about, of all things, cattle farming and "the hormone mafia underworld."

The New Yorker by Anthony Lane

Jacky is not merely beefed up. He is a Minotaur in the making, and that, surely, is why his story becomes such a labyrinth. [27 Feb. 2012, p.87]

NPR by Scott Tobias

Writer-director Michael K. Roskam takes his time in revealing why Jacky needs to shoot up, but that LaMotta restlessness is unmistakable - this bull here can rage.

Austin Chronicle by Marjorie Baumgarten

A persistent narrative thread that pits Flemish-speaking Belgians against French-speaking Belgians will whiz past most American viewers, but hopefully not distract from its overall impact because this movie grabs the bull by the horns and takes viewers on a surprising ride.

Observer by Rex Reed

I can tell you only that this is a film unlike anything I've seen before-harrowing, haunting and sordid. Be forewarned, it is not for the squeamish. But take a chance and you will be rewarded with a work of nightmarish force that is unforgettable.

Portland Oregonian by Shawn Levy

Characters in Bullhead act out of stupidity, greed, anger and vanity; their world is filmed in a washed-out haze; the miserable fortune that devastated young Jacky haunts him ceaselessly still. The film's final notes hint at a state of grace, perhaps, or at least of release. But there's a tautological determinism throughout that suggest otherwise.

Variety

Though the story is told and edited in a way that too often obscures rather than enhances its central tragedy, much is compensated by a career-defining, powerfully physical lead perf by Matthias Schoenaerts and ace lensing by local widescreen wiz Nicolas Karakatsanis.

New York Daily News by Elizabeth Weitzman

Schoenaerts capably handles a difficult role that's equal parts pathetic, repulsive and heartbreaking. But you'll need a strong will to spend your time with such a tragically hopeless character.

Time Out by David Fear

Every time the narrative's underworld schnooks and low-level lowlifes edge their way out of the periphery, a sense of snorting impatience takes over. This is Jacky's story, and when he's grabbing Bullhead by the horns, you don't want him to let go.

Village Voice by Melissa Anderson

The sentiment, just like the repeated shots of Jacky lying in the fetal position in a tub, shadowboxing, and erupting into a bestial 'roid rage, typifies the film's habit of flattening an idea rather than developing it.

Slant Magazine

What Bullhead ultimately lacks isn't balls but insight and empathy.