71
Metascore
12 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83The PlaylistCharles BarfieldThe PlaylistCharles BarfieldYes, the film is about a game show in the late-’90s that went to cruel levels in the name of entertainment, but The Contestant truly showcases the power of human resilience.
- 80Rolling StoneDavid FearRolling StoneDavid FearA chronicle of a media phenomenon, a reality-TV landmark and a psychological nightmare packaged as entertainment, The Contestant is the type of documentary where you’re aware that what you’re witnessing is 100-percent true, and you still can’t quite wrap your brain around what you’re seeing.
- 80ColliderTaylor GatesColliderTaylor GatesThe Contestant is riveting, but it stops short of the type of analysis that would take it to the next level.
- 75The Daily BeastNick SchagerThe Daily BeastNick SchagerThe Contestant outs the Japanese reality show as a pioneering work of manipulative heartlessness, happy to put Nasubi through the ringer for ratings and, also, for spectators eager to chuckle at his mistreatment (and marvel at his cooperation in it).
- 75IndieWireDavid EhrlichIndieWireDavid EhrlichThe details are so hypnotically sadistic that Titley’s documentary is seldom bothered to deviate from them, as none of the film’s retrospective interviews, candid and thoughtful as they are, prove as gripping as the raw video of Nasubi’s ordeal.
- 75TheWrapSteve PondTheWrapSteve PondThe Contestant wants you to be entertained and it wants you to feel bad about being entertained. It pretty much succeeds on both counts.
- 67The A.V. ClubJarrod JonesThe A.V. ClubJarrod JonesTitley doesn’t mine for anything other than what’s already been explored elsewhere.
- The Contestant provides a breezy chronology of one of television’s mostly baffling shows, as well as an entertaining, and sometimes painfully affecting, portrait of a man who, after years of using comedy as a means of self-defense, didn’t seem to know himself whether he was waving or drowning.
- 63RogerEbert.comMonica CastilloRogerEbert.comMonica CastilloTitely’s feature debut does an admirable job condensing the show into a powerful hour-and-change saga.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterDaniel FienbergThe Hollywood ReporterDaniel FienbergThe Contestant is a missed opportunity. It’s a documentary about voyeurism that, in the absence of freshly delivered insight, just reintroduces and rehashes the voyeuristic impulse it’s largely condemning.