Metacritic reviews

Pure's lively and colorful cinematic style turns a "downer" story about grim lives and desperation into a powerful love story.

Real kudos goes to Molly Parker, searing as a heroin-addicted mother immobilized by the death of her husband, and to a poised little boy named Harry Eden, who's astonishingly good as the 10-year-old son desperately trying to hold her to the straight and narrow.

Pure belongs to Eden, a remarkably strong child actor, and Deadwood's Molly Parker, broken and affecting as his sweaty, gear-crazy mum.

One of the movie's intriguing qualities is that its horrors take place within a world that is not as cruel and painful as we know it could be.

It's not without one or two missteps, but remains likely the most impressive juvenile acting you'll see this year.

The film belongs to Eden, who creates a winning personality out of a combination of vulnerability, resourcefulness, toughness and fragility. It's an outstanding juvenile performance.

Pure loses a bit of its nerve in the home stretch, but Eden's unforgettable performance alone makes it a compelling portrait of a smart young boy forced to grow up way too fast.

A small but achingly authentic piece of kitchen-sink realism, this might never have made it across the pond without babe du jour Keira Knightley, excellent in a supporting role as a smacked-out waitress. But the real wonder is Parker, whose vulnerability and wraithlike beauty are devastating.

MacKinnon's film draws on his past as a youth worker and features a standout performance from first-time performer Harry Eden.

This is a conventional, well-acted, English working-class drama in the familiar realist style, but it does not attain anywhere near the level of artistry and imagination of a Ken Loach film.