--- title: "Rust and Bone: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/rust-and-bone/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/rust-and-bone" critics_score: 79 critics_reviews: 24 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." --- # Rust and Bone (2012): what the critics said Critics' score 79 from 24 reviews: 23 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics respond warmly to Rust and Bone, with praise centred on Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts: their physical conviction, emotional openness and chemistry make an unlikely romance persuasive. The reviews repeatedly credit Audiard with handling potentially sensational material with tenderness and restraint, while keeping the fights and intimate encounters forceful. Cotillard draws particular praise for conveying Stéphanie’s renewed sensuality, and Schoenaerts gives the relationship a rough, convincing physical presence. Reservations cluster around the storytelling rather than the acting, with several critics finding loose narrative strands, familiar melodrama or contrivance in the closing stretch. The disagreement is chiefly about how much these weaknesses matter: most find the performances and direction persuasive enough to carry them. The Skinny offers the clearest dissent, admiring the intensity and performances but finding the accumulated misery predictable and emotionally alienating. The spread runs from strong enthusiasm to qualified approval, with little outright rejection. ## Film Comment — Laura Kern Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). The film extends Matthias Schoenaerts's intense performance from Bullhead with added depth and features Marion Cotillard's rawest work to date as the amputee orca trainer. It forms a complicated bond that makes this Audiard's most emotionally engaging work yet, neatly avoiding melodrama. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/article/rust-and-bone-review-jacques-audiard/) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 6 December 2012. A romantic but pitiless, fearlessly emotional and edgy powerhouse melodrama executed by a consummate filmmaker. Audiard calibrates cinematic effects precisely while pushing situations to their emotional limits with daring actors. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-xpm-2012-dec-06-la-et-mn-rust-and-bone-review-20121207-story.html) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 17 May 2012. Festival review. Audiard pairs Cotillard and Schoenaerts in a tough, sexy odd-couple love story with arthouse style and emotional heft. The film is sure-footed, stylish and confident, mainlining emotion to its audience. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/rust-and-bone/5042061.article) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 3 December 2012. Audiard brings such drive to the melodrama that contrivance is barely noticed, recasting it as romantic destiny. Cotillard's emotional yield is unstinting, making the film strongest in its reviving comedy of lust and bodily renewal. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/12/03/tough-times) ## The AV Club — Scott Tobias Rating B+. 22 November 2012. Audiard filters genre elements through a poetic sensibility in this romantic drama about two damaged people rehabilitating each other, with raw chemistry between the leads despite a contrived ending. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/rust-and-bone-1798175063) ## Little White Lies — Basia Lewandowska Cummings Rating 4/4/4. 1 November 2012. Audiard balances raw themes with tenderness in this eccentric emo romance. Cotillard delivers an electrifying performance as Stéphanie rediscovers sensuality and life after loss. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/rust-and-bone) ## Sight and Sound — Jonathan Romney Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). Festival review. The film is a moving and poetic love story with great performances from Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts. Audiard explores potentially lurid material with subtlety and emotional complexity. [Read the review](https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?doWork::WScontent::loadArticle=Load&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::article_id=29B05D55-8F04-42D8-80B4-14DEB3FE08AB) ## Time Out — David Fear Rating 4/5. 19 November 2012. Audiard moves beyond disability melodrama to explore economic hardship and male violence. Cotillard and Schoenaerts deliver subtle, intuitive performances that ground the story. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/rust-and-bone-1) ## Vulture — David Edelstein Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 21 November 2012. The film transforms ugly scenarios into testaments to love's redemptive power through visceral fights and intimate performances, though it remains a bit of a mishmash. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2012/11/rust-and-bone-movie-review-marion-cotillard.html) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 22 May 2012. Festival review. The film tells a relatively conventional story in a disciplined manner, benefiting from strong performances by Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts and convincing depiction of the amputee character. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/rust-bone-327840/) ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 2 November 2012. The critic notes the plot sounds potentially silly but credits Audiard and the lead actors with making the story work effectively without sentimentality or sensationalism. The performances, especially Matthias Schoenaerts as Ali, are singled out for praise alongside the film's memorable qualities and strong direction. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/rust-and-bone-cert-15-120-mins-review-8276765.html) ## Slant Magazine Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 16 November 2012. Audiard passes exploitation-style material through a prestige filter in this crude love story about damaged humans and animals, with raw energy in the fights but some over- and under-playing of its elements. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/rust-and-bone/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 1 November 2012. The critic praises Audiard's passionate love story between a boxer and an orca trainer as tremendously acted and directed, highlighting the exciting spark between the leads and the performances that keep the drama from seeming contrived. He singles out the film's blend of brutal realism and romanticism for praise while noting the ending lacks some power of the earlier acts. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/nov/01/rust-and-bone-review) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 19 May 2012. Festival review. The critic describes it as a formidable film despite serious flaws and rambling narrative from its short-story origins, praising Audiard's immersive world-building and Marion Cotillard's compelling performance while noting a disappointing last-minute shock event. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/cannes-roundup-rust-and-bone-paradise-love-after-the-battle-broken-and-mekong-hotel-7768619.html) ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott Rating Critic's Pick. 22 November 2012. The film is a muscular melodrama about two damaged souls forming an unlikely bond amid primal hungers and emotional needs. The jagged textures of the filmmaking and naturalistic performances complicate its conventional sentimental essence. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/23/movies/rust-and-bone-starring-marion-cotillard.html) ## Total Film — Ellen E Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 30 October 2012. The review highlights how the film revitalizes a familiar cliché through tense, visceral drama and strong performances from Matthias Schoenaerts and Marion Cotillard, though it notes minor flaws like an ill-fitting soundtrack song and voiceover. It emphasizes the relentless tension and Audiard's skill in blending realism with mystical moments. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/rust-and-bone-review/) ## Paste — Shannon M. Houston Rating 9.0. 26 November 2012. The critic calls the film a bold and visionary work of art that conquers new territory in cinematic storytelling. They single out the standout performances, particularly from Cotillard and Schoenaerts, and the beautiful, genre-blending narrative of love and triumph. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/rust-and-bone) ## The Playlist — The Playlist Staff Rating A-. 20 November 2012. The critic describes a beautiful, moving story of two fractured lives that feels organic and real, with masterful direction and standout performances from the leads. They single out the chemistry between Cotillard and Schoenaerts and Audiard's confident handling of the material for praise. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/review-blood-water-flow-freely-in-jacques-audiards-beautiful-moving-rust-bone-20121120/) ## Eye for Film — Merlin Harries Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 3 October 2012. The critic calls it a rare cinematic delight that is poignant, provocative, and visceral, with an incredibly tender yet unsentimental portrayal of romance amid adversity. They single out the lead performances by Cotillard and Schoenaerts, along with the purposeful cinematography, for particular praise. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/rust-and-bone-2012-film-review-by-merlin-harries) ## Den of Geek — Louisa Mellor Rating 4/5. 5 November 2012. The film is visually arresting with a fantastic central performance from Marion Cotillard as resilient Stephanie, and features gorgeous, balletic fight scenes and euphoric sequences amid the bleakness. Some narrative strands fail to cohere and it lurches into contrivance, but the strengths outweigh these flaws. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/rust-and-bone-review/) ## Digital Spy — Stella Papamichael Rating 4/5. 13 October 2012. Festival review. Marion Cotillard delivers a deeply powerful performance as the surly whale trainer who loses her legs, in a raw, animalistic love story that teases extraordinary work from the star. The film brings brutality akin to A Prophet but lapses into conventional melodrama in places. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/bfi-london-film-festival/a430279/rust-and-bone-review-bfi-london-film-festival-2012/) ## HeyUGuys — Craig Skinner Rating 4/5. 21 May 2012. Festival review. The critic finds the film surprisingly great despite its difficult subject matter, crediting Audiard with weaving an emotionally absorbing story. They single out Cotillard's extraordinary, convincing performance as the standout element. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/cannes-2012-rust-and-bone-movie-review/) ## The Wrap — Sasha Stone Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 17 May 2012. Festival review. The critic praises the film's organic storytelling and deep emotional resonance about trauma and relationships. They highlight Marion Cotillard's standout, raw performance as one of her best. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/cannes-review-rust-and-bone-jacques-audiard-burrows-soul-trauma-40316/) ## The Skinny — Chris Fyvie Rating 3/5. 29 October 2012. A work of breathtaking intensity with wonderful performances and an authentic handheld aesthetic, but so much misery makes the narrative predictable and the emotional brutality alienates rather than envelops. The redemption arrives late and ambiguously, leaving a slightly unsatisfying experience. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/rust-and-bone) --- © 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/rust-and-bone.md