Pape Sidy Niang is terrific as the cop, Z, who is viewing America through a new immigrant's eyes.
70
Village Voice
Village Voice
Dreamlike in style, Police Beat is also a real-world vision of what American indies could be if they dared to recognize the drama in our own neighborhoods.
A delicately funny tale about everyday surrealism.
70
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Quietly unsettling in its vision of modern-day isolation.
63
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
An offbeat, poetic piece that eschews the terse, hard-boiled style of the standard cop movie or TV show for something softer-centered and more nakedly emotional.
60
VarietyJoe Leydon
VarietyJoe Leydon
Distinctive, physically ravishing indie is a natural for fests, but it's questionable whether this sometimes involving, sometimes obscure pic will have appeal beyond the specialty market.
50
The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Soulful performance by non-pro Pape Sidy Niang as the bicycle-riding police officer Z, gives the film a poetic tone, but cumulative impact is diffused rather than enhanced by the fractured form.
50
New York PostLou Lumenick
New York PostLou Lumenick
Looks great, and the performances are solid, but the disparate elements in this oddity - which created a minor stir at the Sundance Film Festival last year - never entirely coalesce.
50
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
A bizarre original from the bizarrely original director.
40
Film Threat
Film Threat
The most frustrating aspect of Police Beat is that it's clear everyone involved has great talent...Too bad all their efforts are lost in the service of pointless material.