61
Metascore
22 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeIt’s calculated and precise and meticulously constructed in a way that will be of considerable interest to audiences who appreciate stories that unsettle, and those who recognize the precision of Sisto’s approach.
- 80The New YorkerAnthony LaneThe New YorkerAnthony LaneSisto picks up the spell that is cast by Lowery’s tale, verdant with danger, and continues to weave.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyThe Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneySisto has an arresting visual style, a firm command of tone and an impressive ability to steer his fine cast onto the same rigorous wavelength, all of which makes him a talent to watch.
- 70SlashfilmHoai-Tran BuiSlashfilmHoai-Tran BuiIt’s an interesting idea on page, but in John and the Hole, it is all a little too opaque to make sense of Sisto’s muted portrait of adolescence.
- 67The PlaylistGregory EllwoodThe PlaylistGregory EllwoodNo one would deny Sisto clearly has a vision of what he’d like to accomplish and shows flashes of humor here and there, but the almost overt influences of any number of other filmmakers (Michael Haneke, Yorgos Lanthimos, and Sean Durkin immediately come to mind) have the cumulative effect of making the proceedings feel numbingly familiar.
- 58ConsequenceJoe LipsettConsequenceJoe LipsettJohn and the Hole is more of a collection of memorably uncomfortable scenes as opposed to a cohesive (w)hole.
- 50Film ThreatMatthew PassantinoFilm ThreatMatthew PassantinoSisto certainly has an eye for the story he’s trying to tell, and there are moments throughout John and the Hole, which show he has what it takes to be an interesting filmmaker. [But his] visual flair would have been better served with a stronger story.
- 40The GuardianBenjamin LeeThe GuardianBenjamin LeeThe crudest way to describe what transpires in John and the Hole would be Home Alone if re-envisioned by Michael Haneke or perhaps Yorgos Lanthimos in the broadest possible terms, a chilly atmosphere successfully evoked but without any of the thought or intellect that both film-makers would also bring to the table.
- 38Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreThere’s nothing wrong with weaving a story the viewer can’t unravel as its playing out. But John and the Hole doesn’t have enough of a story to maintain any narrative drive and doesn’t point towards answers or give the viewer any hope of resolution or release.