Rundskop (Bullhead) (2012)
86%RT Audience Score: 80%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
22 wins & 20 nominations total
Anchored by Matthias Schoenaerts’ searing performance, Bullhead is a grim and gripping thriller with the cinematic sinew to match its domineering star’s physicality
Bullhead is a wild ride through the Belgian mafia underworld, with a protagonist who’s equal parts muscle and angst. Schoenaerts delivers a knockout performance as the tormented cattle farmer, and the film’s craft is nothing short of staggering. It’s a modern Greek tragedy that unfolds with dream-like intensity, and it’s definitely worth a watch for anyone who loves a good thriller. Just be prepared to lean in close for Jacky’s oncoming head-butt!
Production Company(ies)
Greenwich Film Productions,
Distributor
Drafthouse Films
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Liège, Wallonia, Belgium
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for some strong violence, language and sexual content
Year of Release
2011
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:2h 8m
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Language(s):Flemish, French, Dutch
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Feb 17, 2012 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 26, 2012
Genre(s)
Crime/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Matthias Schoenaerts, Jeroen Perceval, Jeanne Dandoy, Barbara Sarafian, Tibo Vandenborre, Frank Lammers, directed by Michaël R Roskam, written by Michaël R Roskam, produced by Bart Van Langendonck, crime, drama, R rating, box office gross $118.1K, reviewed by Derek Malcolm, Robbie Collin, Henry Barnes, Nigel Andrews, Violet Lucca, Guy Lodge, Jason Adams, Brent McKnight, Ed Travis, Nicholas Bell, C.H Newell, Patrick Gamble, Matthias Schoenaerts as Jacky Vanmarsenille, Jeroen Perceval as Diederik Maes, Dolby Digital sound mix, Flemish cattleman, illegal bovine-growth hormone, steroid-boosting farmer, mafia underworld, testosterone junky, police informant, Belgium’s hormone mafia, French and Flemish speaking Belgians, slow pace, flashbacks, backroom meetings, one-note charisma vacuum
Worldwide gross: $4,483,147
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $5,902,053
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,126
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 643,626
US/Canada gross: $151,840
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $199,897
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,548
US/Canada opening weekend: $32,267
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $42,479
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,263
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): 2000000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $2,632,996
Production budget ranking: 1,995
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $1,417,868
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $1,851,190
ROI to date (est.): 46%
ROI ranking: 1,170
Jeroen Perceval – Diederik Maes
Jeanne Dandoy – Lucia Schepers
Barbara Sarafian – Eva Forrestier
Tibo Vandenborre – Antony De Greef
Frank Lammers – Sam Raymond
Director(s)
Michaël R. Roskam
Writer(s)
Michaël R. Roskam
Producer(s)
Bart Van Langendonck
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
22 wins & 20 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (76) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (66) | Rotten (10)
Its centre holds, largely because of Schoenaerts’s capacity to elicit our sympathy despite everything.
February 1, 2013 | Rating: 4/5
Derek Malcolm
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
It’s compelling, and Schoenaerts is a treat as this taciturn knot of angst and muscle tone, but Michaël R Roskam’s film is short on humanity and dash.
February 1, 2013 | Rating: 3/5
Robbie Collin
Daily Telegraph (UK)
TOP CRITIC
This thriller about a steroid-boosting farmer lost in the moral maze of Belgium’s mafia underworld is a stylish, meaty treat.
January 31, 2013 | Rating: 4/5
Henry Barnes
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
Bullhead becomes dark, minatory and coruscating in ways not light-aeons distant from Büchner or Scorsese.
January 31, 2013 | Rating: 4/5
Nigel Andrews
Financial Times
TOP CRITIC
There’s not quite enough in here to justify a second sweep.
January 31, 2013 | Rating: 2/5
Violet Lucca
Little White Lies
TOP CRITIC
Bullhead more than deserves its run at the big screen. So does its star.
January 27, 2013 | Rating: 4/5
Guy Lodge
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
While on the surface you expect this to be another Bronson, Schoenarts performance is the mirror-opposite of Tom Hardy’s – everything is pulled in so far you have to lean right into Jacky’s oncoming head-butt
July 2, 2021
Jason Adams
My New Plaid Pants
A story of revenge, of a tormented past, of trying to make sense of things that make no sense.
July 19, 2020 | Rating: B+
Brent McKnight
The Last Thing I See
Bullhead tells a fascinating and unique tale. It also backs that tale up with staggering craft. The script is efficient and fairly flawless.
March 31, 2020
Ed Travis
Hollywood Jesus
Schoenaerts is exceptional as the explosive, testosterone junky cattle farmer. Likewise, director Roskam has infused his supporting characters with depth and a surprising amount of detail.
July 24, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/5
Nicholas Bell
IONCINEMA.com
Like a modern Greek tragedy, which unfolds madly, intensely, even dream-like from one minute to the next- a contemporary tale of violent, conflicted masculinities.
May 3, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
C.H. Newell
Father Son Holy Gore
Schoenaerts’ belligerent, yet benign demeanour creates a fascinating character full of hidden complexities and a labyrinth of emotional dead ends.
February 9, 2019 | Rating: 3/5
Patrick Gamble
CineVue…
Plot
In Bullhead, a Flemish cattleman is caught up in the dangerous world of illegal bovine-growth hormone when he goes into business with a notorious dealer, leading to violence and moral dilemmas.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels praises Matthias Schoenaerts’ “searing performance” in Bullhead, calling him a “domineering star” with the physicality to match.
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