Critic Reviews

Unicorns is fascinating for such a simple movie, largely due to the testaments of a struggling single parent trying to make ends meet, as well as the references to the sometimes harrowing experiences of being queer and South Asian, all set against the backdrop of a casually evolving romance that feels so very real.

In his debut big-screen performance, the warm-hearted and witty Patel – like Aysha – steals the show.

Hardy is terrific, his face crowded with conflicting emotions that Luke doesn’t have the words to express.

Unicorns traces their twin journeys toward self-acceptance with empathy, curiosity and a refreshing disregard for constricting labels.

Like wrapping yourself up in a beloved book, Unicorns takes you to a new place, returning you charmed and changed.

The chemistry between Patel and Hardy is often divine, and the latter delivers such a layered and charismatic performance you’re with it till the end.

Buoyed by the performance by Hardy and by newcomer Jason Patel as Aysha, Unicorns pleads for understanding but does it in a way that at its best is contemplative rather than histrionic.

For two hours at least, Unicorns will help you escape the gray monotony of life with flair and color.

Unicorns, directed by Sally El Hosaini and James Krishna Floyd, doesn’t reinvent the romance genre. Still, it overcomes any rote storytelling by gifting viewers fully fleshed-out and realized characters who color between—and sometimes outside—the lines of their archetypes.

The movie doesn’t deal in labels — it’s not important to the filmmakers whether Luke identifies as gay, straight or bisexual — but instead presents this relationship as one that expands the provincial notion of romance someone like Luke might have had.