The Childhood of a Leader

This is not always a subtle film, but its spooky mood leaves a strong impression.

This is a director's showcase and Corbet, with the support of a superb tech team (especially composer Scott Walker) impresses and fascinates.

The Childhood of a Leader is a dark and creepy work, flawed but ambitious and well worth seeing.

Studious in its homages to somber masters past and present, The Childhood Of A Leader pulls out intriguing moments whenever it threatens to turn repetitious.

All dread all the time, and rich enough in mood that you may be inclined to forgive the familiarity of its narrative trajectory and anchoring psychology.

That it has the courage of cryptic-ness, and leaves sympathetic viewers intrigued long after its final images have faded, is enough to mark The Childhood of a Leader as an uncommonly promising debut.

Demands that kind of close attention, and rewards it as well.

Sudden lens strobe and Scott Walker's sawing score connect the character to the tumult of 20th century Europe, suggesting the child is its destructive heir, and the film climaxes with a remarkable final sequence

The problem with the film is that it promises more than it delivers.

...this is an odd, slow moving and only partly successful film.

Corbet draws an incredible performance out of young debutant Tom Sweet. This is not a one-dimensional or one-note depiction of a misbehaving child but rather a tremendously nuanced turn.

The Childhood of a Leader signals a fascinating new talent in art cinema: the actor Brady Corbet.