68
Metascore
20 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83The Film StageJared MobarakThe Film StageJared MobarakThe result is at once empowering . . . heart-wrenching . . . and inspirational.
- 80Film ThreatAlan NgFilm ThreatAlan NgAnd Then We Danced works because of a tender and heartfelt performance by Levan Gelbakhiani.
- 80Screen DailyLisa NesselsonScreen DailyLisa NesselsonAn instantly engaging tale of a young male dancer’s sexual awakening in contemporary Tbilisi, And Then We Danced is personal and political, romantic and educational.
- 75Slant MagazineSlant MagazineLevan Akin offers up a swooning gay romance as the centerpiece from which all of his other ideas radiate.
- 63Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreManages to tell an over-familiar coming out story with sensitivity, and a Georgian accent.
- 60VarietyJay WeissbergVarietyJay WeissbergGifted as both a thrilling dancer and a nuanced actor, Gelbakhiani’s magnetic presence goes a long way toward papering over some of the more timeworn plot elements . . . and the film should make audiences clamor for more vehicles that feature his seemingly effortless ability to radiate joy.
- 58The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyThe A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyThe dancing is mostly depicted in practice and rehearsal in a featureless room, captured in raggedly cut handheld sequences that betray the movie’s modest means. If Akin knows how to direct better than this, he rarely shows it. But if he never displays a knack for visualizing the physicality of dance (more impressive rehearsal footage can be found in about five seconds on YouTube), he does a decent job of conveying the frustration and passion it inspires in Merab (Levan Gelbakhiani, a professional dancer).
- 50The New York TimesGlenn KennyThe New York TimesGlenn KennyThe cast perform with conviction, and the whole movie is attractively, solidly put together. But its dramatic components, fraught as they are, are tepidly delivered.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterBoyd van HoeijThe Hollywood ReporterBoyd van HoeijNo good performance can hide the fact that what happens during roughly the first hour is perhaps beautifully laid out and told but also extremely familiar. There is an expectation that Akin, also credited with the screenplay, will somehow step it up in the second half with a new twist or unexpected insight. But quite the opposite happens, as the narrative becomes both more melodramatic and erratic.