Thompson's leads are so natural in their roles, and his filmmaking is so immediate and intimate, that King Jack is instantly absorbing.

| Jun 10, 2016

Lacking personality or insight, "King Jack" is a ho-hum tale of young aggression-been there, bruised that.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Jun 10, 2016

Thanks to a strongly rooted lead performance by Charlie Plummer as a 15-year-old small-town kid who's well on his way to a stint in juvenile detention, "King Jack" still strikes a resonant chord.

| Jun 9, 2016

For everyone who ever had a close call as an adolescent and kept it from the grown-ups, "King Jack" will hit you where you live.

| Jun 9, 2016

First-time writer-director Felix Thompson demonstrates good instincts for two of King Jack's standard three acts.

| Original Score: B- | Jun 9, 2016

Writer-director Felix Thompson's first film is a sensitive and self-possessed debut that clocks in at 76 minutes and doesn't waste a single one of them.

| Original Score: B | Jun 7, 2016

It's a tribute to Thompson's humane sensitivity to character detail that its concluding jolt of affirmation feels fully, inspirationally earned.

| Jun 7, 2016

An exceptionally powerful coming-of-age story that pairs the charm and heart we've come to expect from the genre with some especially intense and brutal drama.

| Original Score: A- | Jun 6, 2016

With a beautifully poised script, King Jack delivers an honest depiction of adolescent sexuality and a terrifying depiction of teen violence.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Mar 2, 2016

The overriding air is one of tenderness, with Plummer intelligently suggesting layers of confusion beneath his bravado, engaging our sympathies and ultimately winning our loyalty.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 28, 2016

King Jack isn't breaking new ground in its subject matter but it is an exceptional piece of film-making - one of the very best debut features of its type since David Gordon Green's George Washington.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 25, 2016

There's some lovely stuff in here, some gorgeous observational moments about the directionless ache of the teen experience.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 25, 2016

An atmospheric rite of passage that suggests big things lie ahead for its writer-director and young cast.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 25, 2016

The performances of Plummer and Nichols have a sweet, open quality and this is an engaging coming-of-age story.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 25, 2016

This is true-to-life teenage stuff.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 22, 2016

Harsh punishments are dished out in a way that jolts the material away from coming-of-age cliché.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Oct 14, 2015

Felix Thompson's Tribeca-awarded debut covers familiar coming-of-age material with sensitivity and style.

| Jul 20, 2015

A graceful, small-scale film set in working-class Hudson Valley, New York over the course of an aimless summer break.

Full Review | Jun 19, 2015