Deadfall Reviews

A strong cast makes up for thinnish characterisation, and it's so like Fargo it might as well be called "Fargone".

Full Review

With a script that exposes its own mechanics and contrivances with such reckless abandon, Deadfall simply can't be prevented from flatlining by the solid ensemble cast and luscious visual palette.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5

Deadfall might fancy itself as a 95-minute, wintry version of Bonnie and Clyde, but it's not in the same class with its high body count failing to justify the means, not least during the ludicrous climax.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5

Grim displays of guilt and remorse are on show from all concerned, but the seriously glum expressions of a high-calibre cast can't inject any meaning into such a contrived story.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5

Resembles Fargo in its geography and atmosphere, but fatally lacks its sense of humour.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5

You can't help thinking how good the Coen brothers' Fargo was in comparison.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5

Big fleecy hats with earflaps are doffed to most of the actors. But, with this script, Deadfall was always destined to be a whiteout.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5

With a focus on messy family relationships, this thriller's deranged comical touches almost make up for its contrived plot and annoyingly thin characters.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

There is just too much going on, with some interesting characters edged out of the limelight ...

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

Too many coincidences spoil the plot, but this is a down'n'dirty, black'n'bloody little thriller. If nothing else, you'll truly feel the chill.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

What an accurate title.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5

From characters and dialogue to the belief-beggaring contrivances of the plot, everything about it feels utterly phony.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5

Low grade, unremarkable and - worst of all - unnecessarily violent.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5

Engaging thriller, enlivened by some snowy location work and strong performances from a superb cast, though the script struggles to find the right tone.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

Director Ruzowitzky lets his cast make the most of the wildly swerving tone.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

Like all over-ambitious B-movies, this features solid performances by a mix of seasoned talent and promising young actors, all of whom deserve better.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5

The shifts in tone between black comedy, romance and suspense are often jarring and Dean's script fails to seamlessly weave together its themes of incest and redemption.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10

Spacek, a boon to any movie, hardly needs do anything to be the only one you don't want to see with a shotgun pointing at her head ...

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5

For all that Dean's exploration of dysfunctional families punches squarely on the nose, Ruzowitzky bobs and weaves around the cliches in ways that lift Deadfall above many of its genre contemporaries.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5

An excellent cast and an admirable refusal to give in to its audience's pleas for relief from its blue-gray bleakness aren't enough to raise Stefan Ruzowitsky's Deadfall above your run-of-the-mill snowbelt-set nihilistic noir.

Full Review | Original Score: 82/100