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The Cement Garden

Play trailer Poster for The Cement Garden 1993,  1h 45m,  Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist 85% 13 Reviews Tomatometer 74% 1,000+ Ratings Popcornmeter
85% Tomatometer 13 Reviews 74% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Soon after the death of their father (Hanns Zischler), teen siblings Julie (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and Jack (Andrew Robertson) lose their ailing mother (Sinead Cusack), whose dying wish is to see the family remain together. Needing a source of income to keep the household running, Julie and Jack hide their mother's corpse, live off of her savings and care for their younger siblings themselves. However, the relationship between Julie and Jake soon begins to take a dark, sexual turn.

Critics Reviews

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Nick De Semlyen Empire Magazine Oct 22, 2024
4/5
It deals with the equally stark topic of incest with delicacy and poetic elegance, always aware of where its boundaries lie. Go to Full Review
John Powers New York Magazine/Vulture Dec 31, 2019
A slow, queasy adaptation of Ian McEwan's brisk, queasy novel of the same title. Go to Full Review
Sheila Johnston Independent (UK) Nov 14, 2017
The four young actors, by whom it stands or falls, deliver impressively, in particular Robertson and Gainsbourg. Go to Full Review
Steve Persall Tampa Bay Times Jul 15, 2025
B+
Too lurid for many moviegoers, but a shocking discovery for those adventurous types. Go to Full Review
Malcolm L. Johnson Hartford Courant Jun 6, 2018
it works much less compellingly than the novel, which goes out into the world - though the young actors reasonably approximate the characters in the book. Go to Full Review
Quentin Curtis Independent on Sunday Dec 7, 2017
Birkin, who wrote the film as well as directed it, has stuck close to the original -- the sort of spare, atmospheric novella that adapts well to the screen. Go to Full Review
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The Cement Garden

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Cast & Crew

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Andrew Birkin

Director

Andrew Robertson

Jack

Charlotte Gainsbourg

Julie

Alice Coulthard

Sue

Hanns Zischler

Father

Ned Birkin

Tom

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The Cement Garden

The Cement Garden (1993) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Soon after the death of their father (Hanns Zischler), teen siblings Julie (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and Jack (Andrew Robertson) lose their ailing mother (Sinead Cusack), whose dying wish is to see the family remain together. Needing a source of income to keep the household running, Julie and Jack hide their mother's corpse, live off of her savings and care for their younger siblings themselves. However, the relationship between Julie and Jake soon begins to take a dark, sexual turn.
Director
Andrew Birkin
Producer
Bee Gilbert, Ene Vanaveski
Screenwriter
Andrew Birkin
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Box Office (Gross USA)
$23.4K
Runtime
1h 45m
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