"Dickinson has a light touch and a lively imagination, as well as a sense of humor; he takes material you think might be conventional and opens new windows of thinking."
— Stephanie Zacharek, TIME Magazine
"It sounds like a punishingly bleak premise, but there’s an unexpected levity and moments of arresting beauty to be found in this distinctive directorial debut from the actor Harris Dickinson."
— Wendy Ide, Screen International
"Through sharp observation and dark humour, the film explores the challenges faced by those struggling to fit into society’s rigid moulds, offering a poignant, compelling look at resilience and alienation."
— Peter Howell, Toronto Star
"Urchin has shades of the work of the Safdie brothers in its nervy energy, and owes something to British auteur Andrea Arnold... But it’s also entirely Dickinson’s own vision, which meshes the surreal and the bracingly real."
— Ester Zuckerman, The Daily Beast
"[Frank Dillane] is revelatory in his most substantial big-screen role to date, imbuing Mike with both the kind of wily charisma that makes people want to rescue him, and a self-destructive volatility that keeps repelling such efforts."
— Guy Lodge, Variety
"Harris Dickinson makes a terrifically impressive debut here as a writer-director with this smart, thoughtful, compassionate picture about homelessness. It is engaging and sympathetically acted and layered with genuinely funny moments."
— Peter Bradshaw, Guardian
"Harris Dickinson might be the most exciting new auteur since the Safdie Brothers. The future of British social realism looks promising thanks to his debut--knows his Ken Loach and Mike Leigh inside and out but doesn’t carbon-copy what came before."
— Tomris Laffly, Elle
