71
Metascore
18 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88Slant MagazineJake ColeSlant MagazineJake ColeBiopics ascribe titanic importance to a subject's every gesture, but Ferrara stresses the reality of creation, of its ordinary activities that nonetheless give an artist a sense of fulfillment.
- 80The GuardianXan BrooksThe GuardianXan BrooksIt’s a work of startling maturity from this incorrigible tearaway, a minor-key dream that finally turns towards darkness.
- 80The TelegraphRobbie CollinThe TelegraphRobbie CollinFerrara has come up with something pretty special here: a subtle, seductive, lamp-lit hymn to one artist’s talents from another in the process of rediscovering his own.
- 80Time OutTrevor JohnstonTime OutTrevor JohnstonTo be fair, the full impact probably depends on some prior Pasolini knowledge, but even those coming in fresh will appreciate a haunting portrait of an artist destroyed by the anticommunist prejudices he fought to tear down.
- 75The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyThe A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyAnd yet the movie never errs in its sincerity, which extends all the way to the decision to depict Pasolini’s murder in graphic detail.
- 67The PlaylistJessica KiangThe PlaylistJessica KiangAbel Ferrara’s Pasolini is a frustrating film, despite vast stretches of compelling storytelling.
- 60CineVueJohn BleasdaleCineVueJohn BleasdaleOne feels its subject would have admired the boldness of its conception, if perhaps not its overly slick execution.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyThe Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyIt was a given that this meeting of two iconoclastic directors would yield something far more unfettered and instinctive than conventional bio-drama. But the result borders on incoherence, providing few startling insights for aficionados and minimal illumination for the uninitiated.
- 50VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeFerrara finds himself imitating rather than innovating.