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The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael

Play trailer The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael 2005 1h 36m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
33% Tomatometer 9 Reviews 31% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
In a small English coastal town, three teenage boys are drawn into a world of temptation and violence.

Critics Reviews

View All (9) Critics Reviews
Sukhdev Sandhu Daily Telegraph (UK) A total sham. Apr 2, 2019 Full Review Empire Magazine Rated: 1/5 Oct 21, 2006 Full Review Keith H. Brown Eye for Film Rated: 2/5 Oct 18, 2008 Full Review Karina Longworth Cinematical Loaded with easy cynicism and even easier sadism, it's a beautifully orchestrated ideological disaster that shoots for social commentary but settles for lowest-blow shock. Feb 1, 2008 Full Review Joseph Proimakis Movies for the Masses Dubbed as Cannes 2005's hyperviolent film, it doesn't really depict any violence until it's final 10 mins climax, other than it's hyperviolent symbolism that takes a life of its own, smothering the film's narrative on the way. Rated: 2.5/5 Feb 19, 2007 Full Review Matthew Turner ViewLondon Well made, occasionally insightful and initially enjoyable drama that is ruined by a horrifically violent, tabloid-baiting final scene. Rated: 2/5 Oct 19, 2006 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (65) audience reviews
Audience Member Utter trash after the first 15 minutes. Someone got reaaaal excited about all the new things they had just learned in film school, but seemed to sleep through every lesson on character development, subtlety (the odd thing is: he was using subtlety throughout most of the film, but it's ironic how massively overdone subtlety can be), red herrings, and how to create an actual fucking plot! Nearly all of the scenes were so far away, that you couldn't even see the people half the time, which made it nearly impossible to know who was who and what was happening. Has this guy never read a single book in his life? Characters are never one-dimensional automatons with no backstories or reasons why they do what they do. Everyone in the film is a sloppy caricature of pure evil, and the whole thing is absurd. He HAS to know someone in the business that he blackmailed to make this film, because i can't imagine a single true artist who would look at this and not tell him how badly he needs to find a different profession. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member What a bunch of pretentious drivel. I only watched this film because there was a video that named it one of the best horror films of the last decade. What an utter joke. It tries to be Kubrickesque, it fails. It tries to be horror, however the horror is completely missing. It is a slapshot admixture of angry English youth not quite sure what to do with themselves. I want my hour and a half back. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Audience Member Ugly, disjointed with sub par acting, nonsensical plot and shockingly brutal climax. While the beginning seems promising, after a while it is obvious that the plot is going nowhere and the awful climax is the director's only way to get the audience's attention back. Watch something else. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Audience Member Well its just rubbish. Nothing happens for a good hour and when stuff does happen its just awful, there's no reason behind the bad stuff that happens. Nothing likeable or hateable about the characters, just nothingness and complete boredom throughout. You can tell that the director is trying to make some point about the iraq war, in which he manages to convey nothing to audience really. One good point is that sometimes the camerawork is quite good and interesting. And you can tell the director is technically quite capable, a kind of 'Gasper Noe' wannabe. I hope that he manages to stop this obsession he has with rape and war and create something a little more worthwhile as this is just a waste of time for all who watch this. Its like a unhealthy mixture of a exploitation director wannabe, a muddle script, unsure acting, drawn out awful rape scenes and (the cherry on top) Danny bloody Dyer.... Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Nothing really happens until the last 15 mins which is utterly horrendous. An uncompromising, realistic film. Another great British film. Another great British horror. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Very disturbing. I wished I hadn't watched it and I had to watch something a bit lighter before I went to bed. Hard to forget. If you like Clockwork Orange you may like this. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis In a small English coastal town, three teenage boys are drawn into a world of temptation and violence.
Director
Thomas Clay
Producer
Joseph Lang
Screenwriter
Thomas Clay, Joseph Lang
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
British English
Runtime
1h 36m