IndieWire
The Art of Self-Defense manages to clarify the filmmaker's intriguing vision by stuffing it into a remarkably unnerving character study.
Full review
The Art of Self-Defense
Jesse Eisenberg joins a karate dojo after being attacked on the street in this dark comedy from writer-director Riley Stearns (Faults).
After joinining the local dojo, led by a charismatic and mysterious Sensei (Alessandro Nivola, American Hustle), he uncovers a sinister world of fraternity, violence and hypermasculinity and a woman (Imogen Poots) fighting for her place in it.
Less2019Rating: R16, Violence, cruelty & offensive language104 minsUSA
ComedyFestival & Independent
The Art of Self-Defense | Reviews
83%167 reviewsRotten Tomatoes® Score
All reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
A.V. Club
In a movie that often observes male dysfunction with some ironic distance, Eisenberg brings the satire closer to the bone.
Full review
San Francisco Chronicle
Stick with it... The Art of Self-Defense goes to interesting places.
Full review
Vanity Fair
Riley Stearns's uneven satirical film has insight, bite, and a surprisingly candid turn from Jesse Eisenberg.
Full review
BirthMoviesDeath
No comedy this nuanced could ever succeed without absolute consistency in the cast, and Stearns marshals his cast to subtle and uniformly excellent comic performances.
Full review
Rolling Stone
Writer-director Riley Stearns gets in a few good licks at toxic masculinity before odious comparisons to David Fincher’s masterpiece blunt the film’s comic and dramatic impact.
Full review
Boston Globe
Mannered and remote, the movie throws a lot of punches but hardly ever connects.
Full review
The Globe and Mail
The film's calm brutality is effective...The satire is a spinning wheel kick I didn't see coming. Black belts all around.
Full review
Variety
"The Art of Self-Defense" may be presented as an absurdist satire, but like the best American comedies... it doubles as a keen critique of our national character.
Full review
Hollywood Reporter
While the beats of its plot may be nothing very new, the tone, language and performances here make Self-Defense its own beast.
Full reviewThe Art of Self-Defense | Trailers
The Art of Self-Defense | Release Details
The Art of Self-Defense is available to stream in New Zealand now on Netflix.