Sonia Zadurian CineVue Jan 26, 2019 3/5

Detachment clearly has high aspirations, but unfortunately its jumbled narration means that it falls just shy of the mark.

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PJ Nabarro Patrick Nabarro Jan 8, 2019 3/5

Tony Kaye's ragged, expressionistic aesthetic may have its detractors but it intuitively suits the wrought scenario of Detachment.

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Neely Swanson Easy Reader (California) Sep 18, 2017

This is imitation Polanski, and not a good imitation at that.

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Candice Frederick Reel Talk Online Sep 8, 2017 A

A gripping drama, Detachment offers a gut-wrenching look at the school system, as told by the unsung heroes--the teachers.

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Cory Everett The Playlist Jul 10, 2013 D+

A bizarre, well intentioned mess, at the very least, Detachment is never dull...even as the film is bad, it's compulsively watchable.

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Ashley Norris HeyUGuys Feb 5, 2013 4.5/5

It's a film so well paced with a message so relevant that it deserves an audience bigger than what it got and it deserves more of an emotional impact than will resonant throughout.

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Jeff Beck We Got This Covered Jan 22, 2013 5/10

While Adrien Brody gives it his all in his performance, the film suffers greatly from an attempt to equalize its multiple plotlines.

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Graham Young Birmingham Post Aug 15, 2012 4/5

Detachment is the sort of film-of-the-week that ought to appeal to anyone who loves movies in the purest sense.

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Donald Clarke Irish Times Jul 15, 2012 3/5

Detachment has such original energy and is so infused with righteous anger that it proves hard to dismiss.

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Philip French Observer (UK) Jul 14, 2012

The acting is excellent but the movie is the sort of thing that gives pessimism a bad name.

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Anton Bitel Film4 Jul 13, 2012

Despite its title and central theme, Tony Kaye's complicated lament for values abandoned and children betrayed leaves little room for indifference.

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Stella Papamichael Radio Times Jul 13, 2012 3/5

Admittedly, the film is heavy-handed in places, but it still makes you sit up and take notice.

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Tim Robey Daily Telegraph (UK) Jul 13, 2012 1/5

Grappling with the dilapidation of America's school system is fair enough, but the movie is painfully undone by its pretentious poetry of despair.

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Derek Malcolm London Evening Standard Jul 13, 2012 3/5

If Detachment is only partially successful, it is still more watchable than most school sagas.

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Allan Hunter Daily Express (UK) Jul 13, 2012 4/5

It is pretentious and overbearing at times but passionate.

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Grant Rollings The Sun (UK) Jul 12, 2012 3/5

It is a touch more subtle than X, carrying off the tough trick of being both amusing and depressing.

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Andrew Pulver Guardian Jul 12, 2012 3/5

It's watchable enough, but the bludgeoning screenplay seems undercooked compared to the high-grade actors on show.

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Nigel Andrews Financial Times Jul 12, 2012 3/5

Like the recent Margaret it rages against the dying of the light in a country where too many people think the lights are still on.

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Matt Bochenski Little White Lies Jul 12, 2012 2/5

It's a vaguely elegant brute of a film, but a long way from Kaye's best.

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Matthew Turner ViewLondon Jul 11, 2012 3/5

Stylishly directed and sharply written, this is an engaging, if ultimately depressing drama with strong performances from a superb ensemble cast.

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