Overview
A dangerous holiday scheme spirals out of control as love and greed collide.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- brooding
- paranoid
- darkly comic
- late night thriller viewing
- neo noir double feature
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as a tense, twist-filled Australian neo-noir that approaches the modern noir classics it invokes, while noting some generic elements.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Ray and Carla's affair, marriage problems, and pursuit of stolen drug money directly generate the criminal plot.
The planned arson, competing schemes, and alibis continually compound the protagonists' exposure and peril.
The story contrasts Ray's upper-middle-class neighborhood with Carla's side of the river while exposing criminal behavior beneath domestic normality.
Critics specifically describe the film's moral universe as one where connivers and crooks are their own worst enemies.
Films like The Square, and why
Blood Simple
Shares a grim neo-noir framework in which adultery, greed, and criminal schemes spiral beyond the protagonists' control.
A Simple Plan
Like The Square, it turns an apparently manageable crime scheme into a tense chain of betrayal and unintended consequences.
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Comparable for its morally compromised characters, domestic treachery, and tightly escalating noir suspense.
Movie Details
- Director
- Nash Edgerton
- Release Date
- 2008-06-30
- Runtime
- 105 min
- Rating
- 6.2 / 10 (113)
Cast
- David Roberts
- Claire van der Boom
- Joel Edgerton
- Hanna Mangan Lawrence
- Anthony Hayes
- Peter Phelps
- Bill Hunter
- Kieran Darcy-Smith
- Stephen Weston
- Lisa Bailey
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Square about?
- An adulterous couple's plan to steal drug money through a Christmas arson scheme detonates into a tightly wound suburban Australian noir.
- What is The Square like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Square as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Square violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in The Square as moderate.
- What did critics think of The Square?
- Critics broadly praised the film as a tense, twist-filled Australian neo-noir that approaches the modern noir classics it invokes, while noting some generic elements.
- Which films are like The Square?
- Films with a similar feel include Blood Simple, A Simple Plan, and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead.
- How long is The Square?
- The Square runs 105 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Square?
- In United States, The Square is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
