The Slaughter Rule

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The Slaughter Rule

R

2003

1h 59m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

77%

Tomatometer

30 Reviews

42%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

Roy (Ryan Gosling) gets cut from his high school football team just days after his estranged father dies. For him, football is more than a proving ground. It is a promised escape from his lonely rural existence. Enter Gideon (David Morse), a loner living on the roughneck fringe who is looking for gamers - kids who scrap hard - to play on his six-man football squad. Roy joins the Renegades, and he and Gideon enter into tenuous friendship that pushes the limits of male bonding.

Critics Consensus

A bleak but original indie, The Slaughter Rule benefits from outstanding performances by Ryan Gosling and David Morse.

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David Ansen

Newsweek

03/07/2018

The movie has a bred-in-the-bone sense of place, and a willingness to take big emotional risks.

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Marjorie Baumgarten

Austin Chronicle

02/16/2011

The writing and directing team of twin brothers Alex and Andrew Smith have made an astonishingly good first feature.

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Bilge Ebiri

New York Magazine/Vulture

02/16/2011

Having made his name as a ferocious, self-hating Jewish skinhead in The Believer, 22-year-old Ryan Gosling gives another memorable performance as a lonely, world-hating fatherless quarterback in The Slaughter Rule.

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Total Film

02/16/2011

[Gosling] once again shows how magnetic he can be in challenging roles.

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Stephen C

@bob25009 Mar 30

The worldwide gross is $13,411.00, less than the budget of $500,000,00.

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Griffith J

@griffithxjohnson 04/25/2025

A melancholy story that is carried by its tone & well shot scenes. Unfortunately the writing is so off putting that the purpose is lost in the strange mix. Serious subject matter but never properly examined with weird acting.

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steve d

@RT35616104 07/01/2020

Doesn't do anything interesting despite the strong cast.

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05/14/2020

A gritty, realistic drama. Great acting by the lead characters.

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renaldo d

@RT30888824 04/21/2020

I didn't like it, but I didn't hate it either. There are scenes in the film that are horrible

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01/09/2019

Loved loved loved this film & it only improves through further scrutiny! Perfection delivered by Morse bringing out his characters brooding misunderstood pent up self loathing in the most tender & eloquent of ways. A must see!

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Alex Smith

Director

Andrew J. Smith

Director

Ryan Gosling

Roy Chutney

David Morse

Gideon Ferguson

David Cale

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Synopsis

Roy (Ryan Gosling) gets cut from his high school football team just days after his estranged father dies. For him, football is more than a proving ground. It is a promised escape from his lonely rural existence. Enter Gideon (David Morse), a loner living on the roughneck fringe who is looking for gamers - kids who scrap hard - to play on his six-man football squad. Roy joins the Renegades, and he and Gideon enter into tenuous friendship that pushes the limits of male bonding.

Director: Alex Smith, Andrew J. Smith
Producer: Michael A. Robinson, Gavin O'Connor, Greg O'Connor
Screenwriter: Alex Smith, Andrew J. Smith
Distributor: Cowboy Pictures
Production Co: Samuel Goldwyn Production
Rating: R (Language|Sexual Content)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 8, 2003, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 26, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $13.1K
Runtime: 1h 59m