The Square

R

Released Apr 9, 2010

1 hr. 45 min.

Mystery & Thriller

List

86%

86 Reviews

Tomatometer

70%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

Ray (David Roberts), a construction worker trapped in an unhappy marriage, pursues an affair with his neighbor, Carla (Claire van der Boom). Carla's husband, Greg (Anthony Hayes), is a mobster who keeps large sums of drug money in their home. With this in mind, Carla comes up with a plan: She and Ray will steal Greg's money, burn down her house, convince Greg the money was lost in the fire and then run away together. Carla's scheme, however, doesn't go off as planned.

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Critics Consensus

The Square may not quite live up to the modern noir classics that inspired it, but with twists and tension to spare, it comes admirably close.

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dave s

While it doesn't really add anything new to the noir-inspired, ‘I think we're in way over our heads' style of thriller, The Square is still a pretty entertaining way to kill some time. Ray and Carla are lovers, both cheating on their spouses, who decide to steal a satchel full of money from Carla's husband, who has hidden the bag of cash in the attic. It all seems pretty straightforward until the plan goes horribly wrong, resulting is a nasty chain of blackmail and murder. Despite their stupidity, the two lead characters are interesting and the film moves along at a brisk clip, keeping you guessing along the way. There are a lot of better films of this type (Fargo, A Simple Plan, etc), but there's nothing wrong with spending some time watching The Square.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

kevin c

The Square is a great little thriller about a man and woman having an affair and planning on running off together, but before that happens they must steal a bag of ill gotten money from her seedy boyfriend. From there everything seems to go askew. Filled with twists and turns and great acting from the cast, this is the very definition of a hidden gem.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

jed i

6.3/10 — "Okay"/"Decent"/"Watchable" -(Seen on 1/30/21)

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It's just one thing after another for philandering building-site manager Ray. A clandestine affair with a young neighbour and a mismanaged plot to steal her husband's stash of cash leads inevitably to death and disaster. This Australian neo-noir comes so close to being brilliant - it's very well acted, photographed and directed - that it's a genuine shame that the final quarter slips into almost comic melodrama, with far too many plot beats to stay the right side of plausible. But never mind: it's still a great deal better than most modern thrillers.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Decent thriller - they are trying to plan their escape so they can run off together - but it's a little more complicated than that - living across the river from each other. He's taking some bad deals while building a hotel

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

Audience Member

very good robbery caper film.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/15/18

Full Review

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Nash Edgerton

Director

David Roberts

Ray

Claire van der Boom

Carla

Joel Edgerton

Billy

Anthony Hayes

Greg

Peter Phelps

Jake

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Hip To Be Square

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Jordan Hoffman

Birth.Movies.Death.

a Sisyphusian tale about idealists devoting their lives to bringing about change.

Jan 30, 2013

Full Review

Roger Moore

Orlando Sentinel

A taut, well-executed if somewhat predictable riff on the murderous caper-that-goes-wrong theme that has anchored sexy, blood-stained crime pictures from The Postman Always Rings Twice to Before the Devil Knows You're Dead.

Rated: 3/4

Jul 15, 2010

Full Review

Sheri Linden

Hollywood Reporter

A well-made and entertaining descent into a black-comic hell.

Jul 6, 2010

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

The Square marks an incredible debut for Nash Edgerton, complete with an assuredness of style and tone that comes seldom to first-time filmmakers.

Rated: 3.5/4

Aug 9, 2023

Full Review

Lisa Jensen

Good Times Santa Cruz

The atmosphere becomes so charged that, even the insidious way a man makes an appointment to get his hair cut seems fraught with innuendo and peril.

Rated: 3/4

Sep 12, 2017

Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

This kind of crime film is not easy to make, and the Edgertons have done an admirable job with The Square.

Sep 3, 2010

Full Review

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Synopsis

Ray (David Roberts), a construction worker trapped in an unhappy marriage, pursues an affair with his neighbor, Carla (Claire van der Boom). Carla's husband, Greg (Anthony Hayes), is a mobster who keeps large sums of drug money in their home. With this in mind, Carla comes up with a plan: She and Ray will steal Greg's money, burn down her house, convince Greg the money was lost in the fire and then run away together. Carla's scheme, however, doesn't go off as planned.

Director: Nash Edgerton
Executive Producer: Matthew Dabner, Joel Edgerton, Nash Edgerton
Screenwriter: Joel Edgerton, Matthew Dabner
Distributor: Apparition
Production Co: Film Depot
Rating: R (Violence|Language)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 9, 2010, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $404.9K

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