Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

Tomboy

Play trailer Poster for Tomboy 2011 1h 24m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
96% Tomatometer 73 Reviews 83% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
A 10-year-old girl (Zoé Héran) moves into a new neighborhood and decides to dress like a boy.
Tomboy

What to Know

Critics Consensus

In tune with the emotion and tribulations of childhood, Tomboy is a charming movie that treats its main subject with warmth and heart.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (73) Critics Reviews
Chris Chang Film Comment Magazine Since we are dealing with fresh-faced tweens, we are spared the gender histrionics to be found in the likes of The Crying Game or Boys Don't Cry. Those are indeed bigger films. But sometimes small things can pay off quite nicely. Nov 5, 2013 Full Review Stanley Kauffmann The New Republic Tomboy is a lovely reminder that the French have long been famous for a quite different sort of film-about children. Jun 19, 2013 Full Review Jon Frosch The Atlantic Brisk, precisely observed, and bracingly non-preachy in its examination of a very tricky subject. Mar 7, 2012 Full Review Dave Giannini InSession Film Growth is painful, and Laure/Mickaël’s journey is no different in Tomboy. Feb 20, 2024 Full Review Paul Kanieski KSQD Community Radio All the children in the cast act like real kids, not Hollywood stereotypes; they can be in turn sweet, cruel, petty and forgiving. Jul 20, 2023 Full Review Steve Cruz OUT FRONT Magazine (Denver) Strikingly fresh and uncontrived, lively with wonderful performances. Rated: A May 9, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (268) audience reviews
PridePosterStudios You watch films like this and wonder how people can be so hateful towards those who simply wish to live their life in their most comfortable skin. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/24/24 Full Review Kaito In most movies with representation, it's supposed to be good. Not everyone might support the main character in these movies but there's always atleast one who will help them out. In this case, no one helps I forgot his name and his parents force him to wear a dress to go see a boy he hit. This doesn't make sense and the representation is really bad. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 03/24/23 Full Review Audience Member An amazing story of coming of age. I really connected with this movie and I think anyone can connect with the struggles as a child of discovering yourself while be confined by social norms. Amazing acting by Zoé Héran, a truly moving performance. Céline Sciamma is one of the best directors/writers I have ever seen and her ability to portray the difficulties of coming of age is truly brilliant. No one can show the turmoil and yet beauty in growing up like she can. This movie can at times feel slow, but you feel completely invested in the story. You feel as if you are almost in the same room, just another testament to Céline Sciamma's brilliant directing. A must watch film of coming of age. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Audience Member A taboo topic perfectly managed by the director and screenplayer Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Audience Member Please note that this review contains spoilers. If you haven't seen the movie, reading reviews may spoil the viewing a bit. Tomboy tackles the complicated and taboo topic of gender identity. Short in duration, it also covers a fairly short period, a few summer days after a move. The film, therefore, remains rather vague on the before and after. The main character, Laure / Mickaël, is first presented without any gender qualifier or mention of their first name until a moving and, I must say, daring scene. The director treats a tween's relationship with their body with both intimacy and delicacy, and Zoé is absolutely exceptional in such an intimate role. Between the difficulty of lying on one side to their family and on the other to the other children, the confusion about their identity, their body, and even their sexual orientation (relationship with Lisa), the film is a touching tableau of identity questions of a young teenager. Its very memorable ending deals with the reaction of others after a forced coming-out. And the last scene, like Inception's spinning top, leaves a lot to the spectator's interpretation. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Audience Member A good film overall, and the interactions between the two siblings are just magical and heart-melting. Very difficult, tricky subject (young girl sees herself/himself - and wants others to see her /him- as a boy) given an original and realistic representation. While the adults’ response was definitely harmful, I can also understand them - Laure-Mikael is 10/11 years old - we can understand the quandary of wanting to respect his wishes to be identified as male, but also worry about the potential hurt and dangers that will inevitably come from other kids’ and the community’s lack of understanding. And at what age can someone be sure of how they identify, or does age even matter? So many difficult questions - the movie doesn’t answer them, but it does present them in a refreshingly real way, and there is some hope in the not-altogether-happy ending. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/27/20 Full Review Read all reviews
Tomboy

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Nana 67% 22% Nana Watchlist The Fits 96% 54% The Fits Watchlist TRAILER for The Fits Garden Party 15% 25% Garden Party Watchlist The Imperialists Are Still Alive! 83% 71% The Imperialists Are Still Alive! Watchlist Sister 97% 75% Sister Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis A 10-year-old girl (Zoé Héran) moves into a new neighborhood and decides to dress like a boy.
Director
Céline Sciamma
Producer
Bénédicte Couvreur
Screenwriter
Céline Sciamma, Céline Sciamma
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Canadian French
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 5, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$113.8K
Runtime
1h 24m