--- title: "Fat Girl: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/fat-girl/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/fat-girl" critics_score: 67 critics_reviews: 9 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Fat Girl (2001): what the critics said Critics' score 67 from 9 reviews: 4 positive, 4 mixed, 1 negative. The reviews lean towards qualified approval of Fat Girl, with praise clustering around Breillat’s frank treatment of sexual vulnerability and the sisters’ complicated bond. Critics value the close observation of seduction and emotional exploitation, even when they disagree about the film’s larger purpose. The young leads also draw praise: Anaïs Reboux for her dignified, inscrutable presence, and Roxane Mesquida for the boldness of her performance. Slant Magazine offers the strongest endorsement, finding insight in the deceptively simple storytelling. The ending is the main dividing point in a broad spread of responses. Variety finds it arbitrary and disappointing without dismissing what precedes it; The AV Club considers it damaging enough to make an otherwise tense, subtle film repellent. Eye for Film also questions Elena’s characterisation and the film’s credibility. The consensus remains qualified, though three reviews lack accessible verdicts, limiting how fully their reservations can be described. ## Slant Magazine — Ed Gonzalez Rating 4/4. 26 September 2001. Gonzalez praises the film as a startling, insightful exploration of sexual awakening and survival. He singles out Breillat’s deceptively simple storytelling and Anaïs’s perspective for making the film’s confrontational sexual journey compelling. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/fat-girl/) ## Los Angeles Times — Kevin Thomas Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 26 October 2001. Thomas presents the film as a compelling, unsettling exploration of vulnerability, fate, and self-reliance. He praises Breillat’s fascinated observation of the seduction and the sisters’ complicated bond, while noting that the shocking ending may polarize audiences. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-oct-26-ca-61713-story.html) ## IndieWire — Eddie Cockrell Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 14 February 2001. Festival review. Cockrell finds the film a provocative, haunting step in Breillat’s work, though its deliberate pacing and subject matter may unsettle viewers. He particularly praises Anaïs Reboux’s dignified, inscrutable performance. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/berlin-2001-review-breillat-follows-romance-with-provocative-tale-of-sisters-in-fat-girl-81130/) ## Variety — David Stratton Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 16 February 2001. Festival review. Stratton finds the film affecting and considers it one of Breillat’s most successful explorations of female sexuality, despite a disappointing, arbitrary-feeling ending. He praises the frankness and skill of the storytelling, along with Roxane Mesquida’s bold performance. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2001/film/reviews/fat-girl-1200466760/) ## Screen Daily — Derek Malcolm Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 23 February 2001. Festival review. This is a Berlin competition review of the matching 2001 film, but the critic’s verdict is not visible in the available text. The paywall also obscures what the critic singles out for praise or complaint. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/fat-girl-a-ma-soeur/405109.article) ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 8 October 2001. Festival review. The article is identified as a film-festival review, but its text is unavailable here. I cannot determine the critic’s verdict or what the review singles out for praise or complaint. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/08/movies/film-festival-review-adolescent-fantasies-rough-real-life.html) ## Time Out — GA Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). The available page does not reveal the critic’s verdict. No specific praise or complaint can be identified from the accessible text. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/a-ma-soeur) ## The AV Club — Scott Tobias Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 7 March 2001. Tobias finds the film tense and subtle for most of its running time, but says its finale makes it repellent. He particularly praises the central scene of sexual negotiation for its intricate depiction of emotional exploitation. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/fat-girl-1798192611) ## Eye for Film — Keith Hennessey Brown Fi1m's normalised score 55/100 (inferred from the text). 14 August 2001. The critic finds the film provocative and flawed, with its ending and Elena’s characterization undermining its credibility. Breillat’s direction and the young leads’ performances receive particular praise. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/fat-girl-film-review-by-keith-hennessey-brown) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/fat-girl.md