64
Metascore
9 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88TV Guide MagazineKen FoxTV Guide MagazineKen FoxRemarkable and evenhanded film.
- 78Austin ChronicleAustin ChronicleThe opening and closing courtroom scenes, in which brother Sumner is granted legal guardianship, show a family in need of healing, mentally and spiritually.
- 75Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerChristian Science MonitorPeter RainerComplexly intriguing documentary about psychedelic rock icon Roky Erickson.
- 75Portland OregonianShawn LevyPortland OregonianShawn LevyLike "Crumb" or "The Devil and Daniel Johnston," it's remarkably close-up moviemaking, with family secrets laid bare for all the world to see.
- Luckily, the director Keven McAlester keeps Mr. Erickson's humanity front and center. He lets music critics and musicians praise Mr. Erickson's smiling banshee voice (which influenced Janis Joplin) and pioneering use of feedback, but he doesn't insist on his subject's genius or oversell his importance.
- 60Chicago ReaderJ.R. JonesChicago ReaderJ.R. JonesI came to this expecting a standard rock doc, but its cobwebbed tale of an aged parent and grown child's debilitating relationship seems closer to "Grey Gardens."
- 60Film ThreatFilm ThreatA great meld of rock history, the sociological and familial impacts of mental disability and some courtroom intrigue.
- 50Village VoiceVillage VoiceDirector Keven McAlester's film is entertaining. But with battered archival footage and celebrity worship, McAlester skimps on perspective and complexity.
- 42Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanHas the taint of exploitation.