--- title: "September Says: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/september-says/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/september-says" critics_score: 59 critics_reviews: 8 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." --- # September Says (2025): what the critics said Critics' score 59 from 8 reviews: 4 positive, 2 mixed, 2 negative. The reviews lean cautiously positive, though the split is real. Most critics agree that Ariane Labed’s first film is assured for a debut, and the praise clusters on the two leads, whose closely choreographed physical performances several reviewers find both unsettling and tender. The transplant of Daisy Johnson’s novel to an Irish setting is generally credited with tightening the film into something claustrophobic, and the sisters’ too-close bond is widely felt to be well understood rather than merely gestured at. The reservations gather around the late twist. Even admirers think it slightly undercuts the sombre mood built before it, and the sceptics go further: The Guardian finds the plot turn predictable, Deadline calls the resolution sad but familiar rather than strange, and The Times judges the whole transposition alienating and the twist preposterous. The spread is wide, from four stars to two, with IndieWire in the middle seeing bursts of brilliance in a patchy whole. ## Little White Lies — Hannah Strong Rating 4/4/3. 19 February 2025. The critic finds the film uncanny and tender as an assured directorial debut with magnetic leads and strange surreal elements grounded in British and Irish iconography, but notes that a third-act twist slightly undermines its sombreness. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/september-says) ## RogerEbert.com — Isaac Feldberg Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 26 May 2024. Festival review. The film is an elegantly unmoored tale of two sisters in a tense examination of codependency and isolation. It shares a kinship with the darkly absurdist works of Labed's frequent collaborators while offering a tender perspective on adolescent escapism and painful revelations. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/festivals/cannes-2024-armand-the-kingdom-september-says) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 22 May 2024. Festival review. The critic calls it an arresting directorial debut that captures the fragility of adolescence with preciseness and intimacy through strong performances, establishing a peculiar tone as it shifts from character study to something more mysterious and haunting. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/september-says-cannes-review/5193883.article) ## Sight and Sound Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 20 February 2025. The critic praises Labed’s inventive debut for understanding the creepiness of sisters' dangerously close bond, highlighting the skilfully choreographed physical performances of the leads and the atmospheric shift to a claustrophobic Irish setting that heightens domestic terror. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/september-says-ariane-labeds-inventive-debut-understands-creepiness-sisters) ## IndieWire — Sophie Monks Kaufman Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 21 May 2024. Festival review. The critic describes Ariane Labed's debut as an atmospheric but patchy portrait of codependent sisters. It features promising bursts of brilliance amid its flaws. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/september-says-review-1235007328/) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 23 February 2025. The critic finds Labed’s directorial debut an emotionally distant modern gothic adaptation of Daisy Johnson’s novel Sisters about too-close teenage sisters. It stumbles on familiar ground with a predictable plot twist despite stylish direction. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/feb/23/september-says-review-ariane-labed-daisy-johnson-sisters-tale-of-too-close-siblings-stumbles-on-familiar-gothic-ground) ## The Times — Kevin Maher Rating ★★☆☆☆. 20 February 2025. The adaptation of Daisy Johnson’s novel Sisters is transposed to an Irish setting with alienating results and a preposterous twist. Labed’s attempt to ‘weird up’ the drama fails to succeed. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/september-says-film-review-n62t07plx) ## Deadline — Stephanie Bunbury Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 23 May 2024. Festival review. The critic notes flashes of truly original accomplishment in Labed's directing debut but finds the central sisterly dynamic ultimately predictable and underwhelming, describing the story's resolution as sad but familiar rather than strange. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2024/05/september-says-movie-review-ariane-labed-cannes-film-festival-1235928248/) --- © 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/september-says.md