75
Metascore
27 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 91Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyEntertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyMore connect-the-dots detective thriller than traditional doc, John Maloof and Charlie Siskel’s revelatory riddle of a film unmasks a brilliant photographer who hid in plain sight for decades working as an eccentric French nanny.
- 80VarietyRob NelsonVarietyRob Nelson[An] initially playful, ultimately haunting documentary.
- 80Village VoiceErnest HardyVillage VoiceErnest HardyBecause her tale is so fascinating, movie-making formula is all that's needed.
- 80Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLos Angeles TimesKenneth TuranWhat we find out about Maier, revealed in self-portraits as a striking woman with a singular sense of self, is fascinating.
- 75New York PostFarran Smith NehmeNew York PostFarran Smith NehmeJohn Maloof’s documentary has an opening both apt and witty: Talking heads, one after the other, struck dumb by the mystery at hand.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterBoyd van HoeijThe Hollywood ReporterBoyd van Hoeij[A] sleekly assembled and intriguing if clearly very commercial proposition.
- 70The DissolveScott TobiasThe DissolveScott TobiasThe question of whether Maier, a recluse, would have ever wanted someone like Maloof to bring her into the light is troubling, and perhaps impossible to resolve, but Maloof’s passion for her work and his boundless curiosity about her history certainly make for a riveting documentary.
- 70The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisThe film, which [Mr. Maloof] directed with Charlie Siskel, is absorbing, touching and satisfyingly enjoyable because Maier was a fascinating, poignant and somewhat enigmatic woman.
- 63Slant MagazineNick McCarthySlant MagazineNick McCarthyThis is less a portrait of an artist as a young woman than a psychological evaluation of a slippery subject.
- 60Time OutKeith UhlichTime OutKeith UhlichMaier’s images are truly stunning—vivid documents of the working class that are off-the-cuff yet rigorously composed, always capturing that enigmatic bit of her subject’s soul that leaves you in spine-tingled awe.