37
Metascore
16 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 50The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenWinnie begins as hagiography and ends in hellish confusion.
- 50Village VoiceVillage VoiceA story that probably could have been told better as a miniseries, the film's main strength is its performances.
- The source material is Anne Marie du Preez Bezdrob's biography, and the period detail is spot on. Yet Winnie: the movie opts to wear its heart openly on its sleeve, and play it absurdly safe.
- 40The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyThe Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneySolid performances are undercut by lack of storytelling integrity in this plodding biopic.
- 40Time OutTime OutThis twist doesn’t so much probe the situation’s ambiguities as reflect the filmmaker’s uncertainty about how to properly portray a major historical figure in all her troubling complexity.
- 40VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeDecently acted despite screenplay shortcomings.
- 40The DissolveAisha HarrisThe DissolveAisha HarrisDirector Darrell Roodt’s by-the-numbers biopic suffers from clunky dialogue and shallow characterization, all while never deciding what to make of its leading lady.
- 40New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierNew York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierAny urgency the movie has comes from co-star Terrence Howard, a firebrand of an actor who can’t be contained by a paint-by-numbers script.
- Poor Hudson tries to live up to both the character and the clothes, but she isn’t anywhere near assertive enough a screen presence; whenever she’s supposed to be rallying a crowd or shouting down her oppressors she looks painfully aware of her own inadequacy.
- 30Los Angeles TimesSheri LindenLos Angeles TimesSheri LindenLike many a biopic before it, Winnie Mandela shoehorns an exceptional life into the standard template of a highlights reel, lurching from one Important Moment to the next.