Somersault
User Score
7.6 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 8 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8

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  1. KenG.
    May 7, 2006
    8
    The interesting thing about this very well acted movie is that though it is all under-played (nothing over the top about it) is that it is carried off so well, that the culmative effect of everything that happens is still sad, and quietly powerful.
  2. ChadS.
    Aug 21, 2006
    7
    Heidi(Abbie Cornish) does slutty things, but she doesn't come off as being a slut. Heidil is carnivorous, and yet she projects a vulnerability that prevents the audience from turning on her. Even when the girl is at her sluttiest, or to put it more kindly, when Heidi is at the apex of her self-debasement, the potential eroticism of drug-addled promiscuity is neutralized by our recognition that this sex-bomb is largely unformed and hurting. "Sommersault" is like a cross between "Lolita" and "Ruby in Paradise". It's marred somewhat by an overabundance of nudity, and the filmmaker's insistence that Joe(Sam Worthington) is a figure compelling enough that warrants a breakaway from Heidi's narrative.… Expand
  3. PallaviK.
    Jun 19, 2006
    9
    Visually so powerful. Very moving. Just so.... lovely.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
73 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Duane Byrge
    80
    With Somersault, filmmaker Cate Shortland has expertly served up a vivid and touching tale, one told many times before, but in this well-realized mounting, one that sparkles with fresh awareness.
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  2. Variety
    Reviewed by: Russell Edwards
    70
    Sexual compulsion accelerates adolescent angst in the arty Down Under drama, but while Shortland shows a notable eye for detail, her distracted approach to narrative and an attitude to her characters that's cold as the movie's snowfields make pic most likely to be embraced by serious-minded fest auds.
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  3. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Melissa Levine
    50
    There are lots of ways to grow up. The method offered in this Australian drama is to do something awful and then flee from it.
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