Critics’ reviews

Urchin (2025)

17 reviews from 17 publications. Critics’ score 78: 16 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative.

Back to our review of Urchin

78
Positive
16
Mixed
1
Negative
0

Most critics are impressed by Urchin, and the praise lands in the same two places. Nearly every review calls Dickinson’s first film as director compassionate and assured, and almost all of them single out Frank Dillane’s performance as Mike, a homeless man caught in addiction, for conveying neediness and volatility without asking for easy sympathy. Several also admire how the film moves between everyday comedy and dread, and how it refuses to promise recovery.

The reservations are mild and cluster around familiarity. Sight and Sound and The AV Club both find the shape of Mike’s relapse predictable, and Slant thinks the film occasionally falls back on cliché despite its good intentions. The Los Angeles Times enjoys the film but finds its dreamy interludes unnecessary, where Empire counts the surreal sequences among its virtues. The spread is narrow: no critic dislikes it, and even the coolest reviews call it respectable and affecting.

Empire
30 September 2025 · Iana Murray
85*

Murray praises Urchin as an empathetic, original directorial debut that resists easy answers. She singles out Frank Dillane’s outstanding performance and the film’s observational visuals and surreal sequences.

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The Guardian
18 May 2025 · festival review · Peter Bradshaw
85*

Bradshaw finds the film a smart, compassionate and impressive directorial debut, though it offers no easy answers. He particularly praises Frank Dillane’s vulnerable, finely observed central performance.

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IndieWire
7 October 2025 · B+ · David Ehrlich
83

Ehrlich praises Dickinson’s debut as a perceptive, bracing portrait of a homeless man caught in destructive patterns. He singles out Frank Dillane’s magnetic performance for conveying neediness and volatility without resorting to easy sympathy.

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Little White Lies
festival review · Hannah Strong
80*

Strong finds the film poignant and humane, balancing its bleakness with moments of lightness. She especially praises Frank Dillane’s charismatic, vulnerable performance at the film’s centre.

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The Hollywood Reporter
17 May 2025 · festival review · David Rooney
80*

Rooney finds Dickinson’s debut a thoughtful, distinctive portrait of addiction and homelessness. He especially praises Frank Dillane’s volatile, deeply committed performance as Mike.

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Time Out
12 May 2025 · ★★★★ · Kaleem Aftab
80

The review presents Dickinson’s debut as an arresting, hard-hitting film. It singles out its portrayal of London’s underbelly as its defining strength.

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Los Angeles Times
9 October 2025 · Glenn Whipp
78*

Whipp finds Dickinson’s debut assured and deeply compassionate, establishing him as a filmmaker to watch. He especially praises Frank Dillane’s convincing, complex performance, while noting that the dreamy interludes feel unnecessary.

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Slant Magazine
6 October 2025 · ★★★/4 · William Repass
75

The critic finds the film largely avoids sentimental or simplistic treatment, though it sometimes seems to fall back on cliché. He praises its self-aware exploration of representation and the artist’s fraught relationship with a character.

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Variety
19 May 2025 · festival review · Guy Lodge
75*

Lodge finds Dickinson’s debut compassionate and sharply effective, though it makes no easy promises about recovery. He particularly praises Frank Dillane’s revealing performance and the film’s deft shifts between everyday comedy and anxiety.

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Screen Daily
17 May 2025 · festival review · Wendy Ide
70*

The headline presents the film as an elevated study of addiction, suggesting a positive verdict. The accessible text offers no further details about what the critic singles out.

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Sight and Sound
30 September 2025 · BFI
70*

The review finds the film flawed but admirable, with a distinctive directorial voice. It praises Frank Dillane’s outstanding performance and Dickinson’s imaginative choices, while noting the predictable trajectory of Michael’s relapse.

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The AV Club
17 October 2025 · B- · Jacob Oller
70

The review calls Urchin a respectable, affecting debut, though its familiar treatment of homelessness limits it. It singles out Frank Dillane’s magnetic, complex lead performance for elevating the film.

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The New York Times
9 October 2025
64*

The page content is unavailable, so the critic’s verdict cannot be determined. No specific praise or complaint can be verified from the provided text.

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Deadline
17 May 2025 · festival review · Damon Wise
90*

Wise calls the film a nuanced, unexpectedly moving knockout that examines self-destruction without easy answers. He especially praises Frank Dillane’s revelatory performance and the film’s poetic ending.

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The Wrap
18 May 2025 · festival review
90*

The critic calls Dickinson’s debut a breathtaking, deeply humane drama that builds to a devastating finale. Frank Dillane’s delicate, fully embodied performance is singled out for praise.

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Paste
10 October 2025 · 8.0 · Brogan Morris
83*

Morris finds the film a powerful, complex work of British social realism. He especially praises Frank Dillane’s nuanced, unshowy performance as Mike.

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Collider
17 May 2025 · 7/10 · Emma Kiely
70

Kiely finds Dickinson’s debut an impressive, thoughtful contribution to British realism. She especially praises Frank Dillane’s nuanced performance as Mike.

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Ordered by the weight we give each publication, then by score. Scores are normalised to 100; * means inferred from an unrated review. Summaries are ours, not quotations; follow the links for the reviews themselves. How we rate