65
Metascore
26 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliThere's enough drama here to fill two hours. Whether or not that happens, Rupert Murray's account represents fascinating viewing, and the richness of the subject matter more than makes up for the crudeness of some of the visual elements.
- 70Film ThreatStina ChynFilm ThreatStina ChynIn terms of "narrative," the film keeps excellent pace, maintains your attention, and educates you on psychological ramifications of memory.
- 70New York Magazine (Vulture)New York Magazine (Vulture)Given that this retrograde memory loss has cleansed Doug Bruce's perceptions and made him an altogether more open and emotional person, Unknown White Male suggests that amnesia could be the ultimate chicken soup for the soul.
- 70VarietyRobert KoehlerVarietyRobert KoehlerBruce's efforts to retrace and recover his life after his memory loss contain all the drama and uncertainty of a fine psychological drama.
- 70L.A. WeeklyL.A. WeeklyMurray honors his buddy by presenting him as a sympathetic enigma - the puzzling center of this very human suspense thriller.
- 70The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisCrammed with friendly, sympathetic talking heads and pretty images of a stunned-looking Mr. Bruce, then 35, relearning life (he remembers how to walk but forgot family and friends), the film comes up frustratingly short when it comes to the particulars.
- 67Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanUnknown White Male is framed as a look at the mystery of identity, but there's a bizarre neutrality to the movie, since it makes Bruce's life just as detached and remote to us as it seems to him.
- 60Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternWall Street JournalJoe MorgensternThe film as a whole has the gravitas of a really thoughtful rock video.
- 58The A.V. ClubTasha RobinsonThe A.V. ClubTasha RobinsonUnknown White Male has flashes of brilliance: Murray stretches out the dramatic tale of Bruce's first terrifying hours of recall, and Bruce's raw misery as he recounts those events is deeply affecting.
- 50Village VoiceJ. HobermanVillage VoiceJ. HobermanTo call this story unbelievable is to say the very least. If it's a hoax, Bruce is a fantastic actor (but then, the movie suggests, so are we all). If not, you may wonder less about Bruce's personality than his condition.