Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 67% of 15 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6/10. [9] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 60 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. [10]
Jon Frosch of The Hollywood Reporter wrote "Norman has some big things going for it, not least of which is the stupendous central performance, one of the most intelligent and deeply felt big-screen portrayals of a troubled teen in the last several years. The character lingers with you even after the film starts to fade from memory." [11] Critic Roger Ebert wrote "The film will not be about these tragedies happening to him, but with how he deals with them. That’s a worthy change from a more ordinary teen movie." He complimented Jenkins' performance as the heart of the film, adding "even in unworthy roles, he has such strength, he never seems the need to try." [12] Andy Webster of The New York Times wrote "Norman may not conquer the box office, but it will certainly be a worthy calling card for its director and its leading man." [13]
Dennis Harvey of Variety wrote "Jenkins is fine as usual, Byrd appealingly antic and pained by turns; their familial rapport feels very natural. Likewise, Norman’s first romance is handled without cliched beats." [14] Betsy Sharkey of Los Angeles Times wrote "It’s all too much to ask of a teenager who doesn’t even know how to drive, yet watching Norman learn how to manage a stick shift and life is definitely worth it." [15] Bill Weber of Slant Magazine wrote "Alternately maudlin and snarky, Norman just doesn’t risk enough, and can be consigned to the status of what the school drama geek would call 'some contemporary, obscure, teen-angst thing.'" [16] Joel Brown of The Boston Globe wrote "Whenever Norman and his father are onscreen, you can’t help feeling that there’s an even better, tougher movie inside “Norman,’’ trying to get out." [17]
Lou Lumenick of New York Post wrote "Norman isn’t perfect — Norman’s suicide-themed theater-class monologue is sloughed off, which seems unlikely, and his autobiographical film-within-the-film is fairly trite. But there’s a winning emotional truth in the father-son scenes in this Spokane-shot sleeper, directed with skill and sensitivity by Jonathan Segal." [18] Sam Adams of The A.V. Club wrote "Perhaps there was a disjuncture between director Jonathan Segal and screenwriter Talton Wingate, or the two first-timers didn't realize how difficult their movie-world premise makes it to take anything else in the film seriously." [19]
Leor Galil of PopMatters wrote "Norman discusses confronting mortality in a way that’s far more affecting than most films this year." [20] Jonathan Sullivan of The Film Stage wrote "There is definitely some good in Norman; Byrd and Jenkins give great and effective performances and there are scenes that are successful in manipulating your emotions (especially the third act, which I still can’t get out of my head). But despite the good, the overall blandness and cookie cutter feel of the movie ultimately undermines its positives. There is a market for a truly effective and profound coming-of-age story, something Norman strives for, but fails to be." [21]
