While a more allegorical approach may have provided a shallower sense of satisfaction, it is the deliberate ambiguities of Childhood of a Leader that house its lasting, more enduring and inescapably disturbing impact.

The problem with the film is that it promises more than it delivers.

The Childhood of a Leader signals a fascinating new talent in art cinema: the actor Brady Corbet.

The Childhood of a Leader may not behold a traditional narrative, yet Corbet's auterist style creates a memorable visceral effect.