Force of Evil
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | Release Date: March 1, 1949 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
89
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 10 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Entertainment WeeklyGlenn Kenny
A highly stylized tale. Read full review
100
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
At its best, Force achieves a style at once brutal and poetic, documentarian and noir. Read full review
100
EmpireDanny Graydon
A shining example of everything Hollywood falling into place, and a masterpiece of cinema. Read full review
100
Chicago ReaderDon Druker
A poetic, terse, beautifully exact, and highly personal re-creation of the American underworld, with an unpunctuated Joycean screenplay by Polonsky that is perhaps unique in the American cinema. This is film noir at its best. Read full review
100
USA TodayMike Clark
Pearson's scenes with Garfield are among the most supercharged ever. [28 May 2004, p.6E]
90
Time OutStaff (Not Credited)
One of the key films of the '40s. Read full review
80
The New York TimesBosley Crowther
A dynamic crime-and-punishment drama, brilliantly and broadly realized. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
Force of Evil is a more thoughtful kind of film noir than we are used to but still employs the traditional black-and-white contrasts and shadows. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineJoseph Jon Lanthier
Garfield’s likably unlikable protagonist provides Force of Evil with a semblance of cohesiveness, even if the film often feels like the product of dueling fetishes and pet symbols. Read full review
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