70
Ultimately, the ending is a bit of a cop-out, but that's a small criticism for a film with such decent perspectives.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
88
Gracefully acted, and the story packs a powerful punch straight to the gut.
70
Writer-director Joshua Marston's strikingly confident debut maintains an unblinking focus and sustains an almost unbearable level of tension.
100
Christian Science Monitor by David Sterritt
Timely, pointed messages about oppression and opportunity come poignantly through in strongly dramatic terms.
90
The movie is thrillingly subjective, teeming with the fullness of everyday proletarian life that one finds in the work of the directors who most influenced Marston in the making of this movie: Hector Babenco and the Brazilian realists, Ken Loach and Mike Leigh.
100
ReelViews by James Berardinelli
Disturbing. It is impossible to sit through Maria Full of Grace and not be affected by the circumstances of the characters. For that, the credit must go to Marston and his actors.
100
Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum
Unfolds with a simplicity that's as breathtaking as its inevitability is harrowing.
80
It's a remarkably assured and humane feature debut.
70
Grim but never gratuitous.