It’s gritty and sombre in tone, but, like its central character, has a good and gentle heart at its core.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 14, 2024

Rowland’s direction throughout is clean and deliberate, rarely showy. He evokes the kind of barren small town where there is almost nothing to fight over, although some still find a way.

| Sep 22, 2023

While much of the film fails to be captivating, the performance from Jarvis almost single-handedly saves it.

| Original Score: 6/10 | Jun 5, 2022

This is a magnificently confident and impressive first feature for director Nick Rowland. It's classically told tale of a man on the wrong side of law, but with a good heart with extra blood-drenched knuckles.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Aug 10, 2021

[It] feel two-dimensional. But there's no doubt that Rowland has crafted a powerful and enthralling film that packs a hefty emotional punch.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 11, 2021

A social realist-leaning (and sometimes blackly comic) look at life on the margins, a sharp exploration of toxic masculinity and a potent quest for redemption, too.

| Mar 1, 2021

Bleak and suspenseful drama set in the west of Ireland, not about crime but about the criminal lifestyle; and about man and his complex loyalties.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 10, 2021

A live-wire drama sparking with soul thanks to an exceptionally great cast.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 28, 2020

A bleak Irish gangster movie, filled with despair and a black humor.

| Original Score: B | Aug 9, 2020

[Cosmo Jarvis] is quietly gripping as Arm.

| Aug 3, 2020

A pair of lead performances from young notables Cosmo Jarvis and Barry Keoghan supply the requisite energy to keep the narrative rolling through the paces.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 3, 2020

Shakes off well-worn cliches and genre conventions and turns into a provocative, poignant character study.

| Aug 3, 2020

The Shadow of Violence has interesting things to say about violence and, ultimately, how far you would go for your family.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Aug 3, 2020

By confronting its inherent moral complexity, the film develops an undercurrent of sympathy beneath the testosterone-fueled, predictably brutal surface.

| Aug 1, 2020

The kind of raw, indie gem that is easy to overlook.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jul 31, 2020

The Irish crime drama The Shadow of Violence delivers a bare-knuckle blow to the heart thanks to a powerhouse performance by Cosmo Jarvis.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 31, 2020

Despite the claustrophobic entrapment in a violent and hyper-masculine world, 'The Shadow of Violence' is an ultimately moving morality tale announcing a confident new voice in international cinema.

| Original Score: B | Jul 31, 2020

Guided by first-time feature director Nick Rowland, each actor creates their own riveting interpretation of our flawed, beautiful humanity...

| Jul 31, 2020

Built around an incredible central performance by Cosmo Jarvis, with great cinematography and a propulsive soundtrack by Blanck Mass, this film is worth seeking out.

| Jul 31, 2020

While Jarvis puts a memorable mug to the script's meditations, you have to squint too much to see director Rowland's signature on this broad idea of machismo.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jul 31, 2020