Old Stone

Channeling the style of gritty mainland independent films but without the usual longueurs, the film deftly morphs into a suspense thriller with Dostoevskyan undertones.

[A] stunningly assured, darkly gripping first feature.

While this final segment is the least satisfying, it’s impossible not to be impressed with what Ma accomplishes in the film’s brisk 80 minutes.

Johnny Ma's Old Stone is a lean, nasty entry in a subgenre that could be termed the bureaucratic noir.

The ending, while not inapt, also delves into a realm of cinematic overstatement that the movie had up until that time been careful to avoid. While disappointing, it doesn’t wholly mitigate the power of what has come before. This is an engrossing and unnerving film.

Mr. Ma paints a persuasively bleak scene that could use more psychological and philosophical nuance to go with its painstaking grimness.

It’s too bad that the movie shifts from having too little juice to having too much, because there are hints of a more compelling middle ground.