55
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80MovielineStephanie ZacharekMovielineStephanie ZacharekThe result is a kind of homespun video scrapbook, bumpy seams and glue splotches and all; it's flawed, but at least it feels handmade and human.
- 70The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenBecause Kurt Markus's Super 8 camera is the cinematic equivalent of a single microphone, the film's look matches the scratchy quality of its ancient (by rock 'n' roll standards) sound. The crudeness brings out the elemental quality of music that digs deeply into the soil of working-class American life in songs that express the defiance, despair and nobility of people who refuse to go down without a fight.
- 70Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternWall Street JournalJoe MorgensternSoon I realized that the real subject of this film, with its philosophical voice-overs by the filmmaker and its haunting shots of decayed American downtowns, is the passage of time and the toll it takes. The effect of the Super 8 is to give present moments historical weight by making them look primitive; it's a kind of instant oldening that seems to pause time if not to stop it. It's About You is an odd and touching little film. I'm glad I stuck it out.
- 70Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinLos Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinThe result is an unhurried, visually compelling look at a man and his music - as well as of a bygone America filled with shuttered downtowns and the ghosts of such late musicians as Elvis Presley and blues pioneer Robert Johnson.
- 50Village VoiceVillage VoiceThe result is an amateurish travelogue that feels like a botched assignment, halfheartedly self-regarding and resentfully remote from the object of our fascination.
- 50VarietyRonnie ScheibVarietyRonnie ScheibLuckily, the music trumps the indifferently shot concert footage and lends shape to the evocatively lensed recording sessions in iconic locations. Nothing, unfortunately, mitigates Markus' sincere but trite and awkward narration.
- 50The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayIt's About You's sound is relatively clean and dynamic, but there's nothing remotely resembling a narrative here.
- 40New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanStill, every time Kurt opens his mouth you wish he would refocus and realize that, in fact, we've come to see a movie about someone else.
- 25Slant MagazineSlant MagazineWhile there aren't many films shot on Super 8 anymore, It's About You, a documentary that isn't really about John Mellencamp's 2009 No Better Than This tour, doesn't make the case that moviegoing is missing anything because of that.
- 12New York PostLou LumenickNew York PostLou LumenickThe title It's About You is something Kurt Markus claims Mellencamp told him when he commissioned the film. With the elder Markus' self-important, egotistical narration rarely shutting up, it was a fairly prophetic remark.