“The relationship that emerges between the two (characters) in their parallel lives makes for AN INTERESTING, GRIPPING AND, ULTIMATELY, DEVASTATING STORY.  The REVELATION in this movie is Amber Tamblyn who gives the role an EXTRAORDINARY POWER AND DIMENSION."”
—A.O. Scott, New York Times


“IF AMERICA STILL HAS A HEART BEATING--THEN SURELY IT WILL POUND FOR 'STEPHANIE DALEY.'  Amber Tamblyn delivers a POWERHOUSE PERFORMANCE THAT CROWNS HER IN HER GENERATION OF ACTRESSES.  Tilda Swinton is a REVOLUTIONARY on screen. Timothy Hutton is EXTRAORDINARY.”
—Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times




Amber Tamblyn and Tilda Swinton will take your breath away in Hilary Brougher’s "Stephanie Daley," a gripping film about two souls torn apart by the events of the past. Tamblyn is sensational as the title character.  Cinematic greatness.
—Chelsea Bain, Boston Herald




"Stephanie Daley" announces (Amber Tamblyn's) a young actress to watch. And if she keeps playing with moviemakers like this, we'll eventually be watching her collect an Oscar.


Ms. Brougher creates a remarkably intimate portrait of vivid personalities, solitary souls, ambiguous relationships, troubled marriages and small-town America. "Stephanie Daley" is beautifully made.  Ms. Tamblyn, best known until now for her work on the TV series "Joan of Arcadia," is simply breathtaking, and heartbreaking, as a girl-child estranged from her pregnant self.
—Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal


This delicate and involving character study is defined by the EXCELLENT acting from Amber Tamblyn.

To see Tamblyn's work here, to see her character almost simultaneously embody pain, terror, anguish, embarrassment, regret and just about any emotion you can think of, is to watch the kind of acting the medium exists to provide.
—Kenneth Turan, LOS ANGELES TIMES
Tamblyn, Swinton bring grace, strength to `Stephanie Daley.  'Tilda Swinton and Amber Tamblyn register sheer marvels of screen acting, and writer-director Hilary Brougher knows just how to film their every elusive, empathetic and anxious expression. There's a warm grace to Swinton's performance that's new to the usually severe Scottish actress' body of work, and Lydie's angst and peculiar epiphanies are all the more affecting for it.There is great mystery and tension throughout "Stephanie Daley," yet we still come away understanding the characters in a bone-deep way.
—Bob Strauss, Los Angeles Daily News
Hilary Brougher's "Stephanie Daley" is a major American film announcing the arrival of an independent director who deserves all the hype.
— Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com
GRIPPING. Knockout lead performances by Tilda Swinton and Amber Tamblyn.
[Tamblyn] is a quiet revelation in a role that is like a high-wire act performed over the chasm between childhood innocence and adult responsibility.
— Scott Foundas, Daily Variety


What is most riveting is the relationship between Stephanie and Lydie. Tamblyn is extraordinary in her quietly fragile performance. Swinton, one of the best actresses working today, is complex, intelligent and low-key.
— USA Today

It's a potent movie that addresses not only our culture's attitudes toward pregnancy, but also the primal fears involved in giving birth. This is drama, not tabloid or talk-radio stuff. Tamblyn is impressive, and Swinton, as usual, is outstanding. The portrayal of Stephanie's home life (her parents are played by Jim Gaffigan and Melissa Leo) is quite affecting.
—Walter Addiego



A crystal sharp pairing of highly-tuned actresses delving into an unthinkable, ripped-from-the-headlines act."
— Thelma Adams, Film & DVD Critic, Us Weekly


A potent, provocative drama with exceptional performances.
—Leonard Maltin, Entertainment Tonight.



THE BEST FILM OF 2007.
The real star is director Hilary Brougher.  It takes real bravery to make a film like this.  This film is that good.
—AIN'T IT COOL NEWS


SPELLBINDING. DEEPLY AFFECTING.A remarkably intimate portrait of vivid personalities, solitary souls, ambiguous relationships, troubled marriages. Stephanie Daley is beautifully made. Amber Tamblyn (is) simply breathtaking, and heartbreaking.
—Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal Film Critic, on KCRW



A tightly constructed tale that blends mystery, raw emotion, and provocative questions into a compelling film.
—Hollywood.com


Thanks to a smart, perceptive script, it thrives, illustrating a great divide between women and those who would prefer to judge rather than try to comprehend their decisions.
—Rossiter Drake, The Examiner, San Francisco


Provocative, smartly made and truly independent.
—Mike Russell, The Oregonian



“Swinton and Tamblyn give solid performances, never showy or sentimental but honest to their characters' fragility. The moment of truth for both, when Stephanie reveals her memory of what happened in that toilet stall, is one that causes each woman accepts her individual responsibility. Hutton brings a sense of ambivalence and vulnerability to Paul without making him a cad.”
—Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter



  THREE STARS
The performances - by Swinton and Tamblyn, but also by Timothy Hutton as the therapist's architect husband - take you right inside the characters' stressed hearts and minds.  This is first-rate stuff.
—Jack Mathews, NY Daily News


 
It's a startlingly assured portrayal of a heartbreakingly insecure young girl who, though accused of an awful act, seems far more acted upon by everyone around her.
—Gene Seymour, Newsday



"TERRIFIC performances by Amber Tamblyn and Tilda Swinton."
—David Ansen, Newsweek


Stephanie Daley stands out for Amber Tamblyn's unbelievable performance in the title role. From the happy, innocent good-girl before the incident to the intense birth scene to the sullen, angry teenager after, Tamblyn is nothing short of amazing. She's one to keep an eye on.
—Heather Huntington, ReelzChannel


Director Hilary Brougher wins big points for having the guts to make "Stephanie Daley." Tilda Swinton [is] an actress of almost preternatural resources. The psychological shadings are complex and often troubling but also drawn with an extremely subtle touch. Ms. Swinton, whose lanky elegance is matched by the seismographic sensitivity of her face, inhabits her character's thoughts so richly that they can be read without dialogue or much action. The climactic flashback is jarring, yet rendered with skillful narrative choices that take us inside Stephanie's psyche rather than merely illustrate her predicament. It's a great performance, and a film whose ultimate spirit of compassion will stay with audiences for some time.
—Steve Dollar, The New York Sun




Amber Tamblyn delivers a revelatory performance. [in] a bold, if deeply disquieting, depiction of pregnancy that dares question our culture's insistent myths about motherhood.  Tamblyn's portrayal of Stephanie Daley is softly devastating
—Ken Fox


"RIVETING performances by Tilda Swinton and the EXCEPTIONAL Amber Tamblyn."
—Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly



"Performances of REMARKABLE depth [by] Amber Tamblyn and Tilda Swinton."
—Howard Karren, Premiere Magazine



Hilary Brougher's second feature is all movie, but more intriguing is how it tells a distinctly (sometimes wrenching) feminine tale without making it only relative to Oprah watchers and talk-show bingers. Simply by casting the spooky, wonderfully matched Swinton and Tamblyn, both excellent, the movie is already allowed a higher ground, as both actresses' natural charisma lies in their unpredictable natures.
—Jason Clark, Slant Magazine



There's a rawness to Stephanie Daley that we rarely see in American film – it paints slick composition and beautiful, bleeding color on the kind of story about sex and faith that no one has told well since before Lars Von Trier decided to tackle American imperialism with Brechtian critique.
—Karina Longworth, Cinematical.com
FOUR STARS
Stephanie Daley is part mystery, part psychological drama, and, towards the end, a harrowing thriller of unexpected intensity... complex, ingenious and intelligently woven. Of all the images that remain from the film, it is the solitary anguish of Stephanie, her hand over her face to muffle a scream, that will haunt you for days afterwards.
—Chris Docker, Eye For Film



Hillary Brougher refrains from sensationalizing and instead paints a devastatingly realistic portrayal of a potentially monstrous act... invoking a topic highly publicized by the media, yet rarely explored with such depth and sensitivity.
—Kaylee Hultgren, venuszine



Swinton is quite possibly the most interesting actress in movies right now.... Tamblyn will be remembered for being as unnerving as a person can be without shouting you into a stupor. She chills you quietly.
—Dave White, Movies.com
This lacerating drama from writer-director Hilary Brougher shines a piercing light onto some of the hidden terrors of women.
—Owen Gleiberman, EW.com



ARRESTING - The questions that Brougher raises, unobtrusively, about our stance on faith, pregnancy, sex education, relationships, and denial, paired with the salient performances of Swinton and Tamblyn result in a film that is not only unforgettable, but truly important. 
—Mollory Rice, Nylon Magazine


The movie has a depth that will stir the consciousness of audiences. It is a deeply dramatic film that delves into this disturbing subject with wonderful performances and a gripping script.
—Francine Brokaw, MovieWeb


A tight, suspenseful drama, beautifully constructed, Grade A-
—Mike Buzzelli, Campus Circle


"Stephanie Daley" transcends...Tamblyn was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for her performance in the film and, thankfully, several months later, it's a performance the public can finally witness. The film's real big discovery, though, is Brougher, whose heartfelt, novelistic storytelling style is a fresh, welcome addition.
—Aaron Fullerton, Daily Trojan

Veteran thespian Tilda Swinton and up-and-coming young actress Amber Tamblyn turn in a couple of gut-wrenching performances in Stephanie Daley, an intriguing and difficult take on the gamut of emotions involved in the extremely personal experience of pregnancy.  As seeming foils that actually parallel each other in agonizing ways, Swinton and Tamblyn solidly anchor Stephanie Daley from its complex beginning to end. Similar to her turn in last year’s Thumbsucker, Swinton is at once understated and powerful as a woman coming to terms with her unfulfilled needs. Tamblyn, meanwhile, plays her role with such conviction and force that her performance has a visceral effect on audiences.
—Francesca Dinglasan, Boxoffice Magazine



Amber Tamblyn gives a quietly wrenching performance... a penetrating, stunningly unaffected performance that should be remembered, come award season.
—Tim Knight, Reel.com



Strong performances and rich characters make Broughter's second feature film a gem.
—Harry Chotiner



A quiet yet mysterious tale that doesn't give easy answers to its difficult questions, but still manages to be completely satisfying on its road to discovery.
—Capone, Ain't it Cool News