Dirty God

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 98% based on 45 reviews, and an average rating of 7.4/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "As powerfully acted as it is sensitively told, Dirty God offers a timely story delivered with empathy and deeply affecting grace."[6]

Cath Clarke of The Guardian wrote, "Dirty God is Dutch director Polak's English-language debut, and it's an authentic portrait of London. Polak shoots with in-the-moment energy: in hospital wards, at a grime club, in a drab call centre where Jade gets a job to pay for surgery."[1] Nikki Baughan of Sight & Sound wrote, "Positively vibrating with barely suppressed pain, rage and injustice, Sacha Polak's Dirty God is both a sharply observed character study and a damning indictment of our skin-deep Instagram culture."[7] Hanna Flint of the Time Out wrote, "Polak follows in the footsteps of directors Andrea Arnold ('Fish Tank') and Benh Zeitlin ('Beasts of the Southern Wild') by drawing out a brilliantly nuanced performance from first-time-actor Knight, a burn victim herself."[8] Jay Weissberg of the Variety wrote, "Much attention will deservedly be paid to Knight's impressively nuanced performance – it's one thing to cast an amateur who's been through similar experiences, and quite another to get that person to inhabit a fictional character. Vulnerable, flinty, and unashamedly sexual, Knight's Jade may not be an especially likable person, but she's vibrantly real, and the newcomer brings a forceful physicality and, in her scenes with Robinson, a palpable sensuality."[9] Sophie Monks Kaufman of the Empire wrote, "An intimate portrait of a restless young woman seeking mind, body and soul comfort. Newcomer Vicky Knight is magnetic and there are flashes of kinetic brilliance despite sketchy stretches."[10]

Eric D. Snider of the CrookedMarquee criticised the film for having a thin plot and being hard to watch. And he further added "It's not quite gratuitous misery porn — it's ultimately more hopeful than that — but it's adjacent to it. Director Sacha Polak, co-writing with Susie Farrell, focuses on Jade's valiant and not-so-valiant efforts to rebuild her life and not let her injuries destroy her, but it's hard not to get bogged down in the sadness of every damn detail.", and "Knight's naturalistic performance notwithstanding, it's a hard movie to watch, and the rewards aren't sufficient. The plot is thin, and these aren't the sort of characters you want to just hang out with."[11]