--- title: "The Selfish Giant: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-selfish-giant/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-selfish-giant" critics_score: 78 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." --- # The Selfish Giant (2013): what the critics said Critics' score 78 from 21 reviews: 20 positive, 0 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics respond warmly to The Selfish Giant, with praise concentrated on the young leads and Clio Barnard’s handling of their friendship amid poverty and scrap-metal dealing. The reviews repeatedly find tenderness, energy and humour in material that could have become relentlessly grim, crediting the performances with making the boys feel individual rather than merely representative of hardship. Barnard’s direction and the images of Bradford’s post-industrial landscape also draw strong approval, particularly for finding beauty without softening the surroundings. Reservations concern familiar social-realist territory and the severity of the experience, rather than the acting or visual craft. The AV Club describes the drama as conventional but vivid enough to avoid miserabilism, while The Times acknowledges familiar genre elements yet stresses how strongly the film makes its characters matter. Enthusiasm ranges from measured admiration to emphatic praise; the written responses suggest broader agreement than the spread of scores might imply. ## Financial Times Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 24 October 2013. Clio Barnard finds poetry amid the pylons in a Yorkshire-set tale of two petty-thieving boys. The critic calls it one of the great modern British films, praising its moody, poetic quality and the dazzlingly honest central performance. [Read the review](https://www.ft.com/content/2ade2cfa-3cc7-11e3-a8c4-00144feab7de) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 17 May 2013. Festival review. Barnard's fiction debut is a powerful contemporary fable about friendship, greed and exploitation that recalls the compassionate drama of Ken Loach. It is highlighted for its memorable impact and confirmation of Barnard as a major talent. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/the-selfish-giant/5056238.article) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 24 October 2013. Barnard's reworking of Oscar Wilde's story is an outstanding contemporary social-realist film about two boys scavenging scrap on Bradford estates. The critic praises its passionate handling of the young leads, a hair-raising horse-and-trap drag race sequence, and its maturity as filmmaking in the tradition of Ken Loach. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/oct/24/the-selfish-giant-review) ## Empire — Damon Wise Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 23 September 2013. A terrific human drama about two boys about to be consigned to the scrapheap, with standout performances from its young leads; profoundly moving with lightness of touch despite realist elements. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/selfish-giant-review/) ## Vulture — Bilge Ebiri Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 20 December 2013. The critic describes it as a grim yet magical coming-of-age story with a vitality to its despair that keeps viewers engaged, singling out the remarkable young actors and Barnard's observant, poetic direction. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2013/12/movie-review-the-selfish-giant.html) ## The AV Club — Mike D'Angelo Rating B+. 19 December 2013. It praises Barnard's skill with child actors and her vivid, vibrant depiction of an impoverished milieu in a conventional kitchen-sink drama, noting that the film avoids feeling like miserabilism. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/clio-barnard-moves-gracefully-to-fiction-with-the-selfi-1798179027) ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 20 December 2013. Barnard’s second feature is excellent, pulsing with life; it studies the beauty and limitations of the natural-born entrepreneur in a fable that has you in bits, though grim up north it is not depressing. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/the-selfish-giant-film-review-8903609.html) ## Film Comment — Emma Myers Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 19 December 2013. The film blends British social realism with tenderness, focusing on the friendship between two boys drawn into scrap metal dealing. It praises the powerful performances by the nonprofessional young leads and the director's restrained handling of a potentially mawkish story. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/review-the-selfish-giant-clio-barnard/) ## Little White Lies — Adam Woodward Rating 4/4/5. 25 October 2013. Barnard's follow-up to The Arbor is a bewitching northern fable about childhood, poverty and capitalism. It is singled out for its perverse visual splendour amid the squalor and the performances of the young leads. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/the-selfish-giant) ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 19 December 2013. The film depicts northern England's postindustrial underclass with social realism, focusing on two boys whose friendship provides warmth amid hardship. It highlights the risks of scrap-metal scavenging in a harsh environment. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/20/movies/the-selfish-giant-directed-by-clio-barnard.html) ## Time Out — Dave Calhoun Rating 4/5. 21 October 2013. The film is an unflinching yet warm story of two Bradford boys entangled in scrap-metal theft and danger. It is praised for its raw young actors and poetic touches reminiscent of Loach's Kes. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-selfish-giant) ## Slant Magazine — Oscar Moralde Rating 3/4. 16 December 2013. It lauds the film's clear-eyed social realism and nuanced look at marginal lives, praising the genuine performances from the young leads and the director's ear for language and eye for the landscape. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-selfish-giant/) ## Sight and Sound — Jonathan Romney Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 24 October 2013. Barnard offers a lyrical portrait of two boys from a deprived northern estate who turn to scrap dealing. The film is praised for its direction of the young non-professional leads and its evocation of a post-industrial landscape. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/film-week-selfish-giant) ## The Hollywood Reporter — THR Staff Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 17 May 2013. Festival review. The review calls it an absorbing and ultimately moving follow-up to Barnard's debut, highlighting the strong performances by the young non-pro leads and the fresh topical angle on illicit scrap metal dealing in Yorkshire. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/selfish-giant-cannes-review-524549/) ## The Times Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 27 October 2013. Barnard's The Selfish Giant is a gruelling triumph of social realism about two Yorkshire council-estate boys drawn into scrap dealing. The critic notes its vivid images, energy in happier moments, and ability to make audiences care about the characters despite some conventional elements of the genre. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/the-selfish-giant-and-one-chance-d28x8jzgs0t) ## Variety — Guy Lodge Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 17 May 2013. Festival review. Barnard's voice emerges strongly in this modern fable about a feral teen's journey, with strong performances from young leads and atmospheric visuals of Bradford's decay. It blends social realism with mythic elements in a moving, cinematic way. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2013/film/global/the-selfish-giant-review-1200480590/) ## The Independent Rating *****. 24 January 2014. Clio Barnard’s painful fable is an angry and bleak experience, a blend of Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Ken Loach and Dickens that leaves you bereft. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/dvd-and-bluray-reviews-the-selfish-giant-rush-in-a-world-the-call-a-belfast-story-9082591.html) ## HeyUGuys — Lisa Giles-Keddie Rating 5/5. 17 October 2013. Festival review. The review highlights the raw talent of the young non-actor leads and Barnard's assured social realism in depicting the boys' friendship amid deprivation, with moments of optimism and strong cinematography standing out. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/the-selfish-giant-review/) ## The Playlist — The Playlist Staff Rating B+. 19 December 2013. The critic praises the film's authentic social realism, furious compassion, and standout performances (especially Chapman as Arbor), noting its moving climax with redemption and hope that avoids pure miserabilism. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/review-clio-barnards-powerful-authentic-award-winner-the-selfish-giant-20131219/) ## Eye for Film — Anton Bitel Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 18 October 2013. Festival review. The critic sees the film as a rigorously realist departure from its Oscar Wilde inspiration, trapping fable-like elements in Northern grimness and Loachian social naturalism with no easy happy ending. It is elevated by the non-actor leads' performances and Mike Eley's lyrical cinematography. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-selfish-giant-2013-film-review-by-anton-bitel) ## The Skinny — Danny Scott Rating ★★★★. 27 January 2014. Barnard's second feature elevates familiar social realist territory through astonishing performances from its young leads, a sensitive screenplay, and striking cinematography of Bradford's landscapes. It positions the director as a talent worth watching. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/dvd-reviews/the-selfish-giant) --- © 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-selfish-giant.md