--- title: "Leviathan: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/leviathan-2014/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/leviathan-2014" critics_score: 83 critics_reviews: 21 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." --- # Leviathan (2014): what the critics said Critics' score 83 from 21 reviews: 20 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics respond strongly to Leviathan’s bleak account of corruption and ordinary lives constrained by state and Church. Praise clusters around the landscape photography, which gives the local struggle a larger scale, and performances that keep the suffering credible rather than merely illustrative. The reviews also repeatedly find bitter comedy in the bureaucracy and abuse of power, making the film less uniformly sombre than its subject suggests. The spread runs from emphatic praise to qualified approval, with only one mixed assessment and none negative. Reservations concern the film’s expansiveness, relentless misery and the weight of its religious themes. Time Out finds some targets obvious and the treatment self-important, while Vulture argues that the spiritual subtext overtakes the narrative in the second half. The Financial Times supplies the mixed assessment, describing an overpoweringly remorseless tale while still recognising the force of its political portrait and imagery. ## Empire — Phil de Semlyen Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 30 October 2014. Zvyagintsev’s modern parable of a working man crushed by the Russian state is spellbinding. Long takes capture the solemn beauty of the landscape, while the protagonist’s slow crumpling at the hands of church, government and judiciary leaves a longer, angrier impression; frustrating, funny at points, heartbreaking and magnificently shot, it is one of the films of the year. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/leviathan-3-review/) ## Film Comment — Jonathan Romney Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 2014. The critic praises Zvyagintsev's intelligent, brilliantly acted film for plunging into the bleakness of contemporary Russia, depicting corruption and petty tyranny. The landscape photography is singled out for bringing a metaphysical dimension to the drama. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/film-of-the-week-leviathan-zvyagintsev-russia/) ## Sight and Sound — Ryan Gilbey Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 7 November 2014. The critic praises the film's masterly power in depicting crushing local tyranny through a worm's-eye view of governmental corruption and calumny. They single out the forensic skill in unpicking intersecting layers of corruption along with the visual and aural expression of themes via dusky cinematography and Philip Glass's music. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/leviathan-review-andrey-zvyagintsev-gives-us-worms-eye-view-russian-monsters) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 9 November 2014. The critic praises Zvyagintsev’s subversive portrait of power abuse and corruption in modern Russia as visceral and rebellious, transposing the story of Job to a contemporary setting with an eye for intimate family details intertwined with political themes. He highlights the bleakly comic elements and hopes for its Oscar success. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/nov/09/leviathan-review-andrey-zvyagintsev-epic-everyday) ## Variety — Peter Debruge Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 23 May 2014. Festival review. The critic hails the film as a stunning, surprisingly funny satire that questions whether modern Russia serves its citizens, praising its accessible naturalism and the way it tests the social contract through everyday characters. He singles out the darkly satirical streak and the director’s skill at covering dense narrative ground while leaving key moments open to interpretation. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2014/film/festivals/cannes-film-review-leviathan-1201189022/) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 29 December 2014. The critic portrays “Leviathan” as a tale of grandeur, limitless suffering, and wrath focused on ordinary citizens crushed by power, praising its spaciousness in following minor characters and its calm survey of a fallen world. He singles out the moral permafrost and the director’s poised compositions that keep the film from writhing out of control despite its venom. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/01/05/good-fights-4) ## The AV Club — Mike D'Angelo Rating B+. 23 December 2014. The critic calls it a loose and lively black comedy about bureaucracy and local corruption that is less dour than the director's prior work, appreciating the ambiguity, withheld information, and moments of humor amid the cynicism. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/fighting-city-hall-has-dire-consequences-in-the-russian-1798182284) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 30 December 2014. The critic calls the film bleak and relentless yet impeccably made, a serious indictment of Russia’s soul and the powerlessness of the individual against unchecked authority. He singles out the top-flight actors who bring the despondent protagonists convincingly to life, preventing the deterministic story from becoming too hard to watch. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-leviathan-review-20141231-column.html) ## Slant Magazine — Chuck Bowen Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 10 December 2014. The critic calls it the most ironically beautiful film of the year, a bleak political chamber drama that affirms deep pain as a sign of an engaged soul. It singles out the richly composed landscapes and the contrast between grand nature and small human drama for praise. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/leviathan-2014/) ## Time Out — Dave Calhoun Rating 4/5. 22 May 2014. Festival review. The critic calls it a whale of a movie that is grotesque and a little bloated but impossible to ignore, with its power and horrors sneaking up on the viewer. They single out its sweeping, curious and bold telling in widescreen with a sense of the epic applied to everyday lives, while noting some obvious targets and self-importance. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/leviathan-2) ## The New York Times — Manohla Dargis Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 24 December 2014. The critic finds the film magnificent yet exasperating, a heavy but transporting drama about a modern-day Job battling corrupt authorities in northern Russia. She singles out the director’s heavenly eye for stirring shots of the natural world alongside deep dives into a human realm flooded with tears and vodka. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/25/movies/leviathan-turns-on-a-modern-day-job.html) ## Evening Standard — David Sexton Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 23 May 2014. Festival review. Andrey Zvyagintsev's dark Russian-set film is a serious new contender for the Palme d'Or. It powerfully arraigns the abuse of state power in a tragic story of a man losing everything to corrupt officials, while also offering scathing humour and visual grandeur from its bleak northern landscape. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/leviathan-cannes-film-festival-film-review-9425339.html) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Leslie Felperin Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 22 May 2014. Festival review. The critic describes the film as a multicharacter drama and modern reworking of the Book of Job that doubles as a thinly veiled political parable and black social comedy indicting Putin-era corruption. It praises the craft, allusive power, and bitter irony while noting its expansive nature. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/leviathan-cannes-review-706722/) ## Vulture Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 24 December 2014. The critic praises the mesmerizing, melancholy aestheticized tragedy of the individual versus the corrupt state, with its desolate beauty and strong storytelling in the first half. It notes that the spiritual subtext overtakes the narrative in the second half. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2014/12/review-leviathan.html) ## Financial Times — Nigel Andrews Rating 3/5. 6 November 2014. The critic calls the film a savagely powerful portrait of Putin’s Russia, an overpoweringly remorseless tale of perfidy, betrayal and lives crushed by authority on a desolate coast. He notes its metaphysical disquiet, vivid imagery like the whale skeleton, and vodka-soaked despair. [Read the review](https://www.ft.com/content/e27bcc8e-65aa-11e4-a454-00144feabdc0) ## HeyUGuys — Jo-Ann Titmarsh Rating 5/5. 23 May 2014. Festival review. The critic calls it a powerful vodka-drenched Russian tragedy of one man pitched against a corrupt state. They single out the superb cast, especially the mayor, and the director's withering portrayal of the Church and government. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/cannes-2014-leviathan-review/) ## The Skinny — Philip Concannon Rating 5/5. 5 November 2014. The critic describes the film as hunting big game, presenting modern Russia as rotten to the core through one man's fight against a corrupt establishment. The direction and screenplay are praised for creating arresting images and an unsettling mood. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/leviathan-film_review) ## Consequence Rating A. 5 January 2015. Leviathan is an exacting and bleak experience about the selfishness of power and how people make terrible choices when confronted with chaos. It is a commanding work in its unrelenting bleakness, offering a startling and at times moving observation of modern society. [Read the review](https://consequence.net/2015/01/film-review-leviathan/) ## The Playlist — The Playlist Staff Rating A. 23 May 2014. Festival review. The critic deems it absolutely fantastic and a grand, masterful work. They single out its rich lyricism, poetry, and searing political critique of contemporary Russia alongside its novelistic complexity. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/cannes-review-andrei-zvyagintsevs-searing-powerful-russian-epic-leviathan-20140523/) ## Paste — Tom Meek Rating 8.2. 27 December 2014. The film renders an affecting and timeless portrait of corruption and suffering in a remote Russian province, free of geographic or theological boundaries. The widescreen cinematography and the lead performance underscore its purpose with poetry and purpose. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/in-the-bible-job-suffers) ## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 8 November 2014. The critic describes a community dominated by an undemocratic system where only the church and vodka offer hope. They single out the powerful, unforgettable performances that rage against corruption and despair. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/leviathan-2014-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) --- © 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/leviathan-2014.md