--- title: "Moffie: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/moffie/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/moffie" critics_score: 76 critics_reviews: 17 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." --- # Moffie (2020): what the critics said Critics' score 76 from 17 reviews: 13 positive, 4 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics respond warmly to Moffie’s portrayal of gay repression within apartheid-era military service, finding tenderness and desire amid the bullying and indoctrination. Praise centres on the intimate cinematography, which makes both attraction and claustrophobia palpable, and on Kai Luke Brummer’s restrained, physically expressive performance. The reviews repeatedly describe a punishing but rewarding drama, attentive to the psychological damage of homophobia without losing sight of the conscripts’ longing for closeness. The spread runs from strong enthusiasm to mixed approval, with no outright negative verdicts. Reservations concern uneven storytelling and, in some reviews, the treatment of race or heavy-handed direction. The Hollywood Reporter finds the later sections both meandering and rushed. A revealing disagreement concerns the flashback: Deadline considers its placement disruptive, while The AV Club singles it out as harrowing. Even the more reserved responses find value in the depiction of military hatred and clandestine intimacy. ## IndieWire — Ryan Lattanzio Rating A-. 9 April 2021. Lattanzio calls the film a powerful portrayal of gay repression and apartheid. He praises its sensual cinematography and editing, which make the protagonist’s claustrophobia and memories vivid. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/moffie-review-oliver-hermanus-gay-military-drama-1234628993/) ## Sight and Sound — Jamie Dunn Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 9 September 2019. Dunn finds the film an unsettling, thrillingly cinematic portrait of repression and self-loathing. He particularly praises its feverish atmosphere, shaped by intimate cinematography and an intense score. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/moffie-review-fear-desire-front-lines-apartheid-era-south-africa) ## Variety — Guy Lodge Rating Critics Pick. 5 September 2019. Festival review. Lodge calls the film a formally assured, piercing masterpiece. He particularly praises its tactile, sensually attentive cinematography and its sensitive portrayal of desire under brutal homophobia. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2019/film/reviews/moffie-review-1203323700/) ## Los Angeles Times — Robert Abele Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 8 April 2021. A compelling, emotionally intelligent drama that examines the violence of military indoctrination and the criminalization of gay identity. The critic praises Kai Luke Brummer’s magnetic reserve and the film’s evocative cinematography. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-04-08/review-moffie-drama-gay-apartheid-south-african-army) ## The i Paper — Joseph Walsh Rating ★★★★. 23 April 2020. Walsh finds the film a tough but rewarding drama that exposes the fear and hatred of apartheid-era conscription. He singles out its potent depiction of psychological anguish and the poisonous force of homophobic slurs. [Read the review](https://inews.co.uk/culture/moffie-film-review-homophobia-toxic-masculinity-apartheid-south-africa-421362) ## Time Out — Dave Calhoun Rating 4/5. 23 April 2020. The critic finds the bootcamp drama bruising yet tender in its treatment of coming out. They single out its subtle beauty in expressing the pain and uncertainty of that experience. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/moffie) ## The AV Club — Lawrence Garcia Rating B. 6 April 2021. Garcia finds Moffie harrowing and rewarding, though its heavy-handed direction sometimes undermines its irresolute ending. He praises the film’s focused portrayal of Nicholas’s experience and singles out the swimming-pool flashback as genuinely harrowing. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/the-brutal-rewarding-moffie-fires-a-full-metal-jacket-1846625151) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 23 April 2020. Bradshaw finds the drama grimly compelling, tender and charged with eroticism, while noting complications in its treatment of race. He singles out the film’s transformation of threatening male physicality into moments of beauty and tenderness. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/apr/23/moffie-review-oliver-hermanus-south-africa-apartheid-drama) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 5 September 2019. Festival review. Rooney finds the film a powerful, often beautiful drama, though its later sections meander and feel rushed. He particularly praises Kai Luke Brummer’s intensely restrained performance and the film’s evocative cinematography. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/moffie-venice-2019-1236982/) ## Screen Daily — Jonathan Romney Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 4 September 2019. Festival review. The available page does not reveal the critic’s verdict or specific praise or complaint. It describes a young South African man struggling to conceal his homosexuality during military service. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/moffie-venice-review/5142224.article) ## Little White Lies — Hannah Strong Rating 3/3/4. 23 April 2020. Strong describes the film as bleak, punishing and necessary, while finding tenderness and hope amid its brutality. She praises its atmospheric portrayal of clandestine longing and the beauty of the South African landscape, set against the hatred of apartheid. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/moffie) ## Radio Times — David Parkinson Rating 3/5. The review presents the drama as an examination of the prejudices of apartheid South Africa. It highlights the friendships that help Nicholas endure the bullying and humiliation of military service. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-1ioumo/moffie/) ## Paste — Aparita Bhandari Rating 9.4/10. 7 April 2021. Bhandari calls the film masterful and sharply relevant, while acknowledging its brutal subject matter and cautiously hopeful ending. She praises its tight script, cinematography, and cast for bringing the conscripts’ inner struggles and South African history to life. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/lgbtq/moffie-review) ## Eye for Film — Jennie Kermode Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 19 April 2020. Kermode finds the film powerful and among Oliver Hermanus’s finest works. She particularly praises Kai Luke Brummer’s restrained, physically expressive performance as Nick. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/moffie-2019-film-review-by-jennie-kermode) ## Deadline — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 29 March 2021. McCarthy considers the film very fine and distinctive, praising Hermanus’s nuanced handling of its prejudices and historical perspective. He finds the flashback disruptive at a pivotal point and the ending somewhat soft. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2021/03/moffie-fil-review-international-critics-line-1234723547/) ## HeyUGuys Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). The critic finds the film thoughtful and convincing in its portrayal of queer experience within a brutal, hyper-masculine military setting. They praise its claustrophobic cinematography and its ability to find intimacy and humanity amid dehumanisation. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/moffie-review/) ## The Skinny — Thomas Atkinson Rating ★★★. 14 April 2020. Atkinson finds the film’s early approach imprecise, but says its direction becomes tighter and more controlled. He praises its portrayal of the military’s hypermasculine culture as a source of hatred. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/moffie) --- © 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/moffie.md