77
Metascore
15 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90VarietyAndrew BarkerVarietyAndrew BarkerThis portrait of the artist as an old woman is a gentle-hearted gem, as profoundly subtle as it is subtly profound.
- 90Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleLos Angeles TimesRobert AbeleThis is the rare Morris movie that feels led by the personality of its star figure, in this case Dorfman’s wry positivity and love of what she does, rather than his need to probe.
- 80The GuardianBenjamin LeeThe GuardianBenjamin LeeIt’s an endlessly charming film focused on a woman whose view of life is one to be envied.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterStephen FarberThe Hollywood ReporterStephen FarberDorfman declares that she was never a media or critics’ darling. “I was at the bottom of the list,” she says when talking about her position in the ranks of modern photography. This film will convince you that she definitely deserves a higher position in the pantheon.
- 80Paste MagazineTim GriersonPaste MagazineTim GriersonIt would be inaccurate to say The B-Side only scratches the surface of Dorfman, but this lovely portrait takes pains to adopt her mindset, finding the beauty that pervades an artist’s life. As a result, Morris is offering his own kind B-side—not better than the main work, but a delightful alternative take.
- 80Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternWall Street JournalJoe MorgensternMs. Dorfman, bless her open heart, has been captivated by the surfaces of the people she shoots, of how they seem. “I am totally not interested in capturing their souls.”
- 75Slant MagazineChuck BowenSlant MagazineChuck BowenErrol Morris films Dorfman and her work with a rapt attentiveness that maps the nostalgic and regretful stirrings of her soul.
- 75The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorIf this doc is sometimes elegiac in tone, there is nothing mournful about it. Dorfman is too much the odd-ball optimist, telling funny anecdotes – a lifelong friendship with poet Allen Ginsberg began when she was a young publishing-house secretary and he asked for some mysterious thing called “the can” – and tossing off provocative insights into the nature of photography and life.
- 75The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloThe A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloThe B-Side feels a tad overextended—but it’s a pleasure to see a warm, creative, and not even remotely evasive individual in front of his camera for a change.