Beautifully shot with cast of eye-catching non-pros… Pic gives a special twist to U.K. tradition of social realism by juxtaposing the natural and the constructed. Sharp tech package combines glowing and gritty.
VARIETY
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Writer-director Duane Hopkins’ debut feature displays considerable craft, he elicits affecting performances from a mostly non-professional cast.
SCREEN DAILY
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Better Things is shot in a vein of poetic realism, Hopkins displaying an intuitive knack for stitching together allusive chains of images… Hopkins is a director with an introspective subtlety uncommon in UK film-making. Better Things proves the Brits can make Belgian art films as well as anyone – and I hope you realise that’s a compliment.
THE INDEPENDENT
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Filled with beautifully composed still images and stark poetic sensibility.
INDIEWIRE
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The poetry of the film comes through the impressive artistic compositon of images and the deliberate; thoughtful use of sound.
ARTE

His surprisingly quiet film speaks volumes.This is because, where other films have chosen to go down urban routes described variously as “gritty”, “violent” and, occasionally, “blackly comic”, Hopkins has opted for a style that is in your face in quite another fashion…while studies of isolation have been made before, Hopkins uses his camera to really make you take a long, hard look at these people…Hopkins marks himself out as a man of unique vision who isn’t afraid to try something different to encourage an audience to think.
EYE FOR FILM
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One of the most technically accomplished and inventively shot British films of the festival…it’s truly something special.
THE SCOTSMAN

This Short Cuts-style film, full of fragile hopes and imbued with a deathly atmosphere, is outstanding in terms of its directorial approach
CINEUROPA

This is rural England as you’ve never seen it: hypnotic, precarious, disturbing and yet somehow still beautiful.
SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY

A deftly interwoven ensemble piece following the fractured lives of a Cotswolds community….a backdrop of beautifully shot landscapes…poetic realism at its most achingly resonant.
THE SKINNY

Stunningly directed, Better Things is an unforgettable film that marks Duane Hopkins as a British talent to watch…hypnotic, surreal and extremely powerful direction. Unforgettable.
VIEW LONDON

The film has a powerful, impressionistic style….an impressive debut
LITTLE WHITE LIES