Black Pond

Critics Consensus

No consensus yet.

67%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 247

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Movie Info

A typical British family is labeled as murderers by the tabloid press after a dinner guest dies in their home, and a scheming psychotherapist leaks the story to opportunistic reporters. Tom Thompson (Chris Langham) was taking his dog for a walk when he happened across Blake, a man who appeared to have fallen on hard times. Sympathetic, the suburban father invited the stranger back to his home or a hot meal. During the course of the dinner, however, Blake suddenly dropped dead. Months later, a friend of the family relays the perplexing story to his therapist Dr Eric Sacks (Simon Amstell), who immediately leaks the story to the press. In no time, the Thompsons gain a notorious reputation as the, "Family of Killers". Meanwhile, all Tom wants is to gain the respect of his rebellious daughters Jess and Katie, sooth the frazzled nerves of his distraught wife Sophie. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Rating:

NR
Genre:

Art House & International, Comedy, Drama, Mystery & Suspense
Directed By:

Will Sharpe, Tom Kingsley
On Disc/Streaming:

Jun 24, 2013
Runtime:

83 minutes

Cast

Chris Langham

Simon Amstell

Amanda Hadingue

Colin Hurley

Will Sharpe

Helen Cripps

Anna O'Grady

Sophia Di Martino

Arnab Chanda

View All

Critic Reviews for Black Pond

All Critics (7) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (7)

The message of the film is that normal people can be abnormal at times. One wishes there were more abnormal British films such as this.

Nov 11, 2011 | Rating: 4/5

Derek Malcolm
London Evening Standard
Top Critic
Langham's performance may not rehabilitate his career. Perhaps nothing could do that. But Black Pond is really good: haunting, melancholy and strange.

Nov 10, 2011 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
Top Critic
An assured debut with great performances and a wonderfully odd brand of British humour.

Nov 10, 2011 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Paul Weedon
Little White Lies
Top Critic
You get your money's worth of surreal quirk but also pleasingly awkward comedy in this plucky Britflick, the dark tale of a family who bury a complete stranger.

Nov 10, 2011 | Rating: 3/5

Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph (UK)
Top Critic
Black Pond is an adventurous offering from first-time directors on a small budget.

Aug 27, 2018 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Isabel Stevens
ViewLondon
By mixing elements of comedy, surrealism and, believe it or not, mockumentary, they've created a truly twisted, yet brilliantly unique debut.

Aug 13, 2018 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Jamie Neish
CineVue
[Will] Sharpe's writing is full of stunning one-liners, insightful tangents and Freudian slips.

Sep 27, 2017 | Full Review…

Leah Churner
Cinema Scope

View All Critic Reviews (7)

Audience Reviews for Black Pond

May 10, 2014

This movie would've been better if the story was a little more focused because, there comes a time, when the most important character in moving the story forward, Blake, disappears only to be seen at the climax of the film where everything that led to the family becoming maligned in the media happens. I still thought this film was pretty good with plenty of darkly comic moments. The film really is very strange to watch, but I believe that is actually one of the positives about the film. The strangeness and seeing how this seemingly normal family, incredibly dysfunctional but normal, is cornered by a man wishing to die because he believes the family's dog is the reincarnation of his dead wife. So you can see where the strangeness comes into play. While Blake is there for a lot of the film, the story is mostly about the family and how it's falling apart at the seams. There's interviews with the 'real people' after the fact interspersed with the footage of everything that led up to the incident. The film is also a little messy, and again, I think that's part of its charm. It's certainly not a perfect movie, but it's a movie that has some pretty interesting ideas and concepts, combined with the good cast and a good script makes this a solid watch, if nothing else.

Jesse O Super Reviewer