Critics’ reviews

Bait (2019)

11 reviews from 11 publications. Critics’ score 86: 11 positive, 0 mixed, 0 negative.

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86
Positive
11
Mixed
0
Negative
0

The consensus on Bait is strongly positive, with all eleven reviews praising its account of class friction in a Cornish fishing village. Praise centres on Jenkin’s hand-crafted black-and-white 16mm images, fractured editing and post-synchronised sound. Most critics see these techniques as closely tied to the story’s displacement and misunderstandings, rather than as decoration. The reviews also value its treatment of gentrification, while Time Out singles out Edward Rowe’s performance for its humanity.

The differences are chiefly matters of emphasis and enthusiasm: the supplied reviews contain no recurring reservation or negative dissent. Some stress the unsettling atmosphere and experimental filmmaking; others find comedy, social observation and solid storytelling beneath the scratched images. Variety particularly praises the refusal to simplify community tensions. Ratings range from measured approval to full marks, but the shared judgement is that the unusual technique serves a recognisable, contemporary conflict.

Empire
28 August 2019 · Sophie Monks Kaufman
90*

The critic calls Bait a triumph that illuminates social rifts through a Cornish fishing community's tensions with gentrifying outsiders. Jenkin's distinctive 16mm black-and-white technique and post-synced sound create an immersive, tactile atmosphere that blends comedy, humanity and timely themes into a timeless work of art.

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Screen Daily
9 February 2019 · festival review
90*

The critic notes the film's nostalgic yet contemporary take on Cornish communities under threat, praising the ravishing cinema and the unusual meeting of form and social context. It mentions the atmospheric black-and-white images and the sense of rediscovered tragedy.

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The Guardian
1 September 2019 · Peter Bradshaw
90*

Jenkin’s breakthrough is a richly textured, rough-hewn gem in which form and content combine perfectly, an authentic portrait of tensions between locals and tourists in a Cornish fishing village. The post-synched sound and hand-processed 16mm visuals create a dreamlike, disorienting effect that underscores themes of misunderstanding and displacement.

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The Hollywood Reporter
20 February 2019 · festival review · Stephen Dalton
90*

The critic praises the film's lo-fi monochrome 16mm aesthetic and experimental style as one of the most original works at Berlin. It singles out the director's use of montage, retro pastiche, and folk-horror elements to explore class tensions in a Cornish fishing village.

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The Times
29 August 2019 · ★★★★☆ · Kevin Maher
90*

This Cornish-set drama unfolds in scratchy monochrome with jumpy shots, delivering solid storytelling alongside captivating silvery images from hand-cracked 16mm film and DIY development. The result is a beguiling, otherworldly atmosphere perfectly suited to its theme of displacement.

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Time Out
20 August 2019 · ★★★★ · Phil de Semlyen
80

The review calls it a brilliantly original seaside parable and a quietly thrilling piece of filmmaking with a brooding atmosphere. It singles out the human performance from Edward Rowe and the deeper currents of gentrification and class friction.

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Variety
28 February 2019 · festival review · Jessica Kiang
80*

The critic finds the film's archaic 16mm black-and-white style an engaging, hand-crafted experiment that heightens its story of a Cornish fishing village facing gentrification and the clash between tradition and modernity. She singles out the nuanced, non-simplistic observations of community tensions and the striking, simple imagery for praise.

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Sight and Sound
13 February 2019 · festival review · Ian Mantgani
70*

The critic praises the film's unique, hand-crafted style and its exploration of social tensions in a Cornish fishing village through a grubbily powerful study of fear and loathing. It highlights the original filmmaking that blends various genres into something distinctive.

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HeyUGuys
30 August 2019 · ★★★★★ · Linda Marric
100

The critic praises the film's unique 16mm visual style and original storytelling about class conflict in a Cornish fishing village, highlighting its mesmerizing and unsettling aesthetic.

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Eye for Film
21 June 2019 · ★★★★½ · Andrew Robertson
90

The critic lauds the film's astonishing cinematic qualities, blending nostalgia with modern elements through its 16mm black-and-white cinematography and authentic portrayal of Cornish life and class tensions.

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The Skinny
24 June 2019 · ★★★★ · Jamie Dunn
80

The critic praises Jenkin's innovative hand-shot and edited 16mm black-and-white melodrama for capturing class tensions and gentrification in a Cornish fishing village through striking sound design and Eisenstein-like juxtapositions. They single out the battered, decayed aesthetic and fractured editing as a triumph of old-school technique applied to timely social issues, calling it the UK's first Brexit movie.

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Ordered by the weight we give each publication, then by score. Scores are normalised to 100; * means inferred from an unrated review. Summaries are ours, not quotations; follow the links for the reviews themselves. How we rate