55
Metascore
5 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75RogerEbert.comOdie HendersonRogerEbert.comOdie HendersonSnakehead entices you with a lurid premise, but the empathy that shines through the cracks of its tough exterior is the real surprise.
- 67IndieWireKristen LopezIndieWireKristen LopezThere’s far more of Snakehead that works than doesn’t, and Leong shows a serious flair for crime dramas. Together with Chang and Wu, the talents of the film are for an electric trio, including stars worth watching and a director very much on the rise.
- 58Original-CinLiam LaceyOriginal-CinLiam LaceyThe decision to avoid having the characters speaking Chinese saves the trouble of subtitles but it also makes the drama feel generic, another pulpy sub-Scorsesian urban nightmare with episodes of spastic violence, the constantly throbbing soundtrack, the use of slow motion, and wide-screen, colour-saturated camera work.
- 50The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorLeong’s documentary realism is powerful – if tough on an audience – but his fiction skills are erratic in a film that relies too heavily on Sister Tse’s narration, much repeated flashbacks and heavy exposition of the characters’ motivations.
- Wu plays Dai Mah with a no-frills abandon that often makes her feel like the film’s protagonist, but even her performance can’t overcome the narrative missteps.