82
Metascore
22 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100The Irish TimesTara BradyThe Irish TimesTara BradyMostly, Joyland is a film of huge heart and empathy. Mirroring the hapless hero’s journey, it’s an unexpected romance.
- 83IndieWireSiddhant AdlakhaIndieWireSiddhant AdlakhaThe frame moves slowly, if at all, but it always brims with physical and emotional energy; in “Joyland,” there’s always something in the ether, whether embodied by dazzling displays of light as characters move across stages and club floors, or by breathtaking silences as they begin to figure each other out, and figure out themselves.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyeThe Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyeAs Joyland heads toward its end, the film grows increasingly moving. Secrets and their attendant lies collapse under pressure. The weight of what’s left unsaid strangles interactions.
- 80VarietyGuy LodgeVarietyGuy LodgeTartly funny and plungingly sad in equal measure, this is nuanced, humane queer filmmaking, more concerned with the textures and particulars of its own intimate story than with grander social statements — even if, as a tale of transgender desire in a Muslim country, its very premise makes it a boundary-breaker.
- 80Screen DailyAllan HunterScreen DailyAllan HunterSadiq’s screenplay navigates a complex web of secrets and lies, pressures and prejudices to create a soulful human drama intent on challenging narrow minds.
- 80Time OutTime OutJoyland’s quiet power comes not through melodrama, which Sadiq scrupulously avoids, but its deep affection for its characters. It’s a modern tale of changing gender roles and the patriarchal crisis that could just as easily have taken place in New York.
- 80EmpireJohn NugentEmpireJohn NugentA storming debut from writer-director Saim Sadiq: emotional, tender, and quietly radical. With any luck, it will herald a new era for Pakistani cinema.
- 80The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawJoyland is such a delicate, intelligent and emotionally rich film. What a debut from Sadiq.
- 70SlashfilmRyan LestonSlashfilmRyan LestonJoyland is a wonderful film about longing and desire with a melancholy undertone that you just don't expect.
- 58The Film StageEthan VestbyThe Film StageEthan VestbyAnother example of a tasteful but passionless festival film, Saim Sadiq’s feature debut Joyland errs on the side of arch family drama when its most interesting aspects remain almost in the periphery, promising a much better film.