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Kisses
Metascore
68 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
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  1. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    91
    A superior lyrical ragamuffin Irish drama.
  2. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Ray Bennett
    90
    By keeping his (Daly) focus on the two remarkable youngsters without an ounce of sentimentality he succeeds in making something true and satisfying.
  3. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Ella Taylor
    90
    The movie's ending may be less satisfying than that of "Slumdog Millionaire"--a film you can love for its infectiously wishful exuberance, but never fully believe in--but Kisses is truer to the tragedy of a generation of children whom we have utterly failed. If they're anything like Kylie and Dylan, they'll be back to let us know.
  4. Empire
    Reviewed by: David Parkinson
    80
    Captivating and poignant portayal of life on the edge for the disregarded of our societies.
  5. Boxoffice Magazine
    Reviewed by: Steve Ramos
    80
    The sweetest runaways you'll ever meet are pre-teens Kylie Lawless (Kelly O'Neill) and Dylan Dunne (Shane Curry).
  6. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    80
    Small though it is, Kisses evokes all kinds of feelings, and that is no small thing from a film of any size.
  7. New York Post
    Reviewed by: V.A. Musetto
    75
    In an effective touch, Kisses opens in black and white, changes into color for its Dublin scenes, then returns to monochrome.
  8. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Amy Biancolli
    75
    It isn't a long journey. Kisses clocks at 72 minutes, which feels something less than feature length. It's long enough to include a few cliches and nagging questions, yet it's short enough to leave you wanting more.
  9. New York Observer
    Reviewed by: Rex Reed
    75
    The kids make stunning debuts, but their accents are thicker than porridge, rendering a good 90 percent of the dialogue so unintelligible that it might as well be in Swahili. Some subtitles are provided out of necessity, but not enough.
  10. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Stan Hall
    67
    What saves Kisses from its missteps is the chemistry between O'Neill and Curry.
  11. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: Peter Rainer
    67
    O'Neill and Curry, both heretofore nonactors, can't put across much more than a single emotion at a time, but their amateurishness isn't as annoying as it might have been in a movie with higher aspirations and artistry.
  12. NPR
    Reviewed by: Mark Jenkins
    65
    Slight but engaging, and considerably energized by its two young leads, Daly's Kisses gives several fresh spins to one of Irish cinema's most common recent subjects: troubled working-class children on the lam.
  13. Movieline
    Reviewed by: Stephanie Zacharek
    65
    There's nothing so frustrating as a small movie, made by a clearly gifted filmmaker, that flies close to magic only to be sternly jerked back to earth.
  14. Time Out New York
    Reviewed by: David Fear
    60
    No one would claim that director Lance Daly delivers an Emerald Isle version of "The Spirit of the Beehive," though this scrappy film does have a knack for capturing the elation and confusion of late childhood in their ragged glory.
  15. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Stephen Holden
    60
    Kisses may strike you as either ingeniously magical or insufferably cute, depending on your taste. But more than the story, which circles back on itself, the natural performances of its young stars, Shane Curry and especially Kelly O'Neill, nonprofessional actors, lend the movie a core of integrity.
  16. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    50
    What the writer and director, Lance Daly, means as some kind of transporting urban adventure for them is a disenchanting slog for us.
  17. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Noel Murray
    50
    Kisses is dreary to a fault. It looks fantastic, with its shadowy Dublin alleys illuminated by the heroes' light-up Heelys. But the writing doesn't have that same glow.
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