--- title: "Kelly + Victor: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/kelly-victor/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/kelly-victor" critics_score: 58 critics_reviews: 12 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." --- # Kelly + Victor (2012): what the critics said Critics' score 58 from 12 reviews: 4 positive, 4 mixed, 4 negative. The reviews are evenly divided between positive, mixed and negative responses to Kelly + Victor, though praise for the lead performances and cinematography cuts across those divisions. Critics repeatedly credit the actors with commitment and conviction, and several admire the film’s sense of Liverpool. Even less persuaded reviewers find visual skill here. The central relationship’s mixture of tenderness, danger and pain is compelling for several critics, though that interest does not always last. The sharpest disagreement concerns whether the romance earns its emotional intensity. Sight and Sound finds it engrossing and praises Evans’s visual language, while The Hollywood Reporter considers it implausible and emotionally unconvincing despite its committed performances. Reservations elsewhere cluster around thin characterisation, awkward dialogue and contrived or choppy storytelling. The spread is wide: what some critics welcome as an unsentimental treatment of damaged lovers, others find increasingly wearing in its emphasis on misery. ## Sight and Sound — Trevor Johnston Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 20 September 2013. Johnston finds the film a fascinating, emotionally engrossing romance that turns its ambitious ideas into cinematic electricity. He praises Evans’s visual language and Campbell-Hughes’s performance, while noting that some supporting dialogue feels anodyne. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/film-week-kelly-victor) ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 20 September 2013. The critic calls it a lovely, mostly cliché-free romance and a sound night out, despite an overly histrionic turn. They single out the lead performances and the film’s gradual, tantalising reveal of its protagonists for praise. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/kelly-victor-film-review-8828729.html) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 19 September 2013. Bradshaw finds the drama provocative and engaging, with an unsentimental take on romance. He praises its cinematography and acting. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/sep/19/kelly-victor-review) ## Screen Daily — Mark Adams Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 15 October 2012. The review’s verdict cannot be determined because its text is behind a paywall. No specific praise or complaint is visible. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/kelly--victor/5047773.article) ## Time Out — Dave Calhoun Rating 3/5. 16 September 2013. The review finds the film’s portrayal of love and pain between two damaged souls compelling but says its atmosphere turns sour too quickly. It singles out the film’s resemblance to *Blue Valentine* before noting that shift in tone. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/kelly-victor) ## Variety — Guy Lodge Fi1m's normalised score 42/100 (inferred from the text). 28 October 2012. Festival review. Lodge finds the film uneven but a striking calling card, with its credibility-straining depiction of a sadomasochistic relationship undermining its ambitions. He praises the stylish cinematography and carefully integrated musical selections. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2012/film/reviews/kelly-victor-1117948646/) ## Empire — Patrick Peters Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 18 September 2013. The critic finds the adaptation intense but wayward, with its strengths unable to overcome its flaws. The review praises the sense of place and the courageous performances, while faulting the contrived subplots and climax. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/kelly-victor-review/) ## Total Film — Kevin Harley Rating 2/5. 15 September 2013. The review finds the film deadening and its adaptation choppy. It praises the performances and framing of Liverpool, but says the characters lack depth. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/kelly-victor-review/) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Stephen Dalton Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 19 October 2012. Festival review. Dalton finds the film stylish and intense but ultimately implausible and emotionally unconvincing. He praises its striking cinematography and committed performances, while criticizing the thinly drawn characters and sensationalized misery. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/kelly-victor-london-film-festival-380345/) ## Collider — Matt Goldberg Rating B-. 12 March 2013. Festival review. Goldberg finds the film deeply moving and well made, but ultimately hollow and distressing. He especially praises the authentic lead performances and the restrained, intimate direction. [Read the review](https://collider.com/kelly-victor-review/) ## The Skinny — Kristian Doyle Rating ★★★. 16 September 2013. Doyle finds the film falls short despite its compelling central relationship. He praises the leads’ performances and Evans’ blend of tenderness and violence in the intimate scenes, but criticizes the dialogue and Scouse accents. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/kelly-victor) ## Eye for Film — Jeff Robson Fi1m's normalised score 55/100 (inferred from the text). 20 September 2013. Robson finds the film compelling but overfocused on pain and misery, which eventually becomes wearing. He praises the lead performances and Evans’s skill in conveying both the relationship’s danger and its tenderness. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/kelly-and-victor-2012-film-review-by-jeff-robson) --- © 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/kelly-victor.md