--- title: "The Girl: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-girl/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-girl" 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." --- # The Girl (2012): what the critics said Critics' score 59 from 8 reviews: 3 positive, 3 mixed, 2 negative. The reviews are mixed, with praise clustering around the performances and the interest of the Hitchcock–Hedren relationship rather than the film’s strength as a standalone drama. Toby Jones’s portrayal of Hitchcock draws repeated approval for its precision, even from critics who find the writing thin. The backstage material also holds attention, while some favourable reviews value the restrained treatment of abuse and the care given to its psychological detail. The spread is wide, and the sharpest disagreement concerns how much the film explains about its characters. The Guardian finds Jones’s unresolved motives compelling and regards the study of obsession highly. The Hollywood Reporter instead finds the script superficial, reducing a complex relationship to overly literal terms. Elsewhere, reservations concern the drama’s ability to sustain itself beyond its subject’s fascination; Vulture praises the composed images and Hitchcock references but finds the storytelling insufficiently imaginative and the resolution unconvincing. ## The Guardian — John Crace Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 26 December 2012. Crace calls the film a class act and a peerless study of sexual obsession. He particularly praises Toby Jones’s portrayal of Hitchcock, which leaves the director’s motives intriguingly unresolved. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2012/dec/26/the-girl-tv-review) ## Slant Magazine — Daniel Goldberg Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 12 October 2012. Goldberg finds the film a measured, harrowing portrait that stays with the viewer, though it lacks Hitchcock’s thrills and catharsis. He praises its pragmatic style and psychological detail in portraying Hedren’s abuse without sensationalizing it. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/tv/the-girl-hbo/) ## Time Out Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 16 October 2012. The review finds HBO’s look at Hitchcock and Hedren fascinating as a backstage drama. It praises the film’s behind-the-scenes focus. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/chicago/tv/the-girl-movie-review) ## Film Comment — Violet Lucca Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). The page identifies this as a review pairing *The Girl* with *Hitchcock*, but the critic’s verdict is not visible. The available text frames the comparison around film history versus film fantasy, without revealing what the critic praises or faults. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/review-hitchcock-anthony-hopkins-the-girl-toby-jones/) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 6 October 2012. Festival review. Rooney finds the film entertaining and absorbing, but ultimately superficial and short on psychological insight. He praises Toby Jones’s technically precise Hitchcock portrayal while faulting the script for reducing the characters’ complex dynamic to literal, shallow terms. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/girl-tv-review-376906/) ## The New Yorker — Richard Brody Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 18 October 2012. Brody finds the film mediocre as a drama but irresistibly fascinating as criticism of Hitchcock’s films and abuses. He singles out Imelda Staunton’s performance as Alma and the film’s depiction of Hedren’s hair dyeing as especially revealing. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/tippi-hedren-and-alfred-hitchcock) ## Los Angeles Times — Robert Lloyd Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 19 October 2012. Lloyd finds the film’s performances effective but says the drama ultimately lacks the substance to stand on its own. He praises Toby Jones’s impersonation of Hitchcock while noting that the portrayal feels less persuasive as the story escalates. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-xpm-2012-oct-19-la-et-st-the-girl-review-20121020-story.html) ## Vulture — Matt Zoller Seitz Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 25 July 2018. Seitz finds the film serious and visually accomplished but ultimately insufficiently imaginative, with an unconvincing empowerment ending. He praises its carefully composed shots of Hedren on set and its visual references to Hitchcock’s films. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2012/10/tv-review-the-girl.html) --- © 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/the-girl.md