59
Metascore
9 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- Ultimately, Barney Thomson’s roots are exposed too easily, and the question of “where’d they get that from?” often trumps our curiosity of where the film at hand is going, and that’s a problem.
- 80The TelegraphRobbie CollinThe TelegraphRobbie CollinCarlyle shoots the story with a propulsive, page-turning energy that’s enjoyably at odds with the Glasgow backdrop, which is dilapidated to the point of timelessness.
- 60EmpireSimon CrookEmpireSimon CrookMerrily gruesome black comedy.
- 60The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawEmma Thompson gives us a scene-stealing performance which is enjoyably macabre.
- 60Time Out LondonCath ClarkeTime Out LondonCath ClarkeThere are more than a few false notes here.... Still, the sight of Emma Thompson, wearing old-lady prosthetics and a leopard skin coat as Barney’s mum...is not to be missed.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterNeil YoungThe Hollywood ReporterNeil YoungWhile the casting of Thompson, just two years Carlyle's senior is a gamble that could easily have seemed gimmicky, the half-Scottish Oscar-winner is a riot as the grotesque Cemolina, a raucously broad-accented, chain-smoking schemer resplendent in faux-ocelot
- 50Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinLos Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinDespite the fertile concept, it's hard to care about, much less root for, the irritable, charisma-challenged Barney. The character never emerges as an effective hero or antihero, and performer Carlyle does little to mitigate that.
- 40CineVueJamie NeishCineVueJamie NeishThe Legend of Barney Thomson has a few redeeming features scattered throughout, but for Carlyle it's much too bland and undefined.