[8] It is loosely based on Jean-Paul Sartre's short story of the same name, published in 1939 in a collection entitled The Wall.

After rehearsing for a church pageant the boy throws rocks at the other children and their parents and then runs into the woods.

The father, along with several trusted aides, spends some time in secret meetings at the house, no longer having faith in the negotiations.

Upon seeing that his son is still disrobed he promises to lash him which results in a physical altercation in which he injures the boy's arm.

[22] In 2015, Corbet said that the script of the film was inspired by Robert Bresson's Mouchette, Maurice Pialat's Under the Sun of Satan, Ermanno Olmi's The Tree of Wooden Clogs, Carl Theodor Dreyer's Day of Wrath and Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon.

[23] On 10 December 2013, it was announced that Juliette Binoche, Tim Roth and Robert Pattinson had joined the cast of the film.

[5] Pattinson describing the film said that "It's about the youth of a future dictator in the Thirties, like an amalgamation of Hitler, Mussolini and some others.

[35] On 13 February 2015, Producer Chris Coen released the first image featuring Robert Pattinson, Bérénice Bejo and Liam Cunningham in their costumes.

[41] The film received positive reviews from critics, with emphasis on Corbet's screenplay and direction, the performances of the cast, Scott Walker's music and Lol Crawley's cinematography.

The site's critical consensus reads, "The Childhood of a Leader mirrors the rise of fascism in post-WWI Europe with a well-acted, confidently crafted look at one young man's unsettling coming of age.

[43] David Ehrlich in his review for Indiewire said, "With his unusually accomplished directorial debut, Corbet delivers a strange and startling film that reflects the unique trajectory of his career, as well as the influence of the iconoclastic directors with whom he's already worked.

"[2] Lee Marshall of Screen International wrote a positive review for the film, saying, "The Childhood of a Leader is as relentlessly sombre and compelling as the film’s remarkable, full-volume orchestral soundtrack" and compared it with Michael Haneke's work, saying, "though it shares something of Haneke's dispassionate view of human nature, The Childhood of a Leader is in no way derivative.

Dominated by dread, veering into art horror at points, this compulsively dark story takes no prisoners.

"[44] Tommaso Tocci of The Film Stage called it "a huge psychological and tonal balancing act that could crumble at each turn, and yet never does.

"[45] Guy Lodge of Variety called it "a overweening, maddening but not inconsiderable directorial debut for actor Brady Corbet, which plays as something of a straight-faced parody of a well-upholstered historical biopic.

"[46] John Bleasdale of Cine Vu gave it five out five stars by saying that "(it) is a dark, enigmatic piece of work that hovers between visionary greatness and petty domestic triviality.

Corbet's inaugural stint behind the camera marks a stunning debut and the finest film at Venice thus far.

"[47] In contrast, Deborah Young in her review for The Hollywood Reporter said, "There is actually a lot of imagination at work in the film, though frustratingly it rarely comes together in an emotionally meaningful way.