78
Metascore
5 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90VarietyRobert KoehlerVarietyRobert KoehlerThe balance between feeling and distance is never a contradiction here but, rather, the dynamic that makes this film an especially humanistic entry in the Maysles canon.
- 88New York Daily NewsJami BernardNew York Daily NewsJami BernardIts simple, straightforward storytelling makes mincemeat of the idea that, gee, if these people just worked a little harder and got motivated, they, too, could get a piece of the American Dream.
- 80The New York TimesDana StevensThe New York TimesDana StevensAn exemplary work of cinéma vérité that allows its subjects to speak for themselves, traffics neither in pity nor in political grandstanding.
- 75New York PostLou LumenickNew York PostLou LumenickDemonstrates that sometimes letting subjects and the facts speak for themselves can be quietly devastating.
- 60TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghTV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghFroemke and Dickson's film opens a window onto rural poverty so dire it's almost inconceivable that it exists in 21st-century America.