85
Metascore
19 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100The PlaylistAndrew CrumpThe PlaylistAndrew CrumpLike life itself, Hale County This Morning, This Evening doesn’t lend itself to immediate comprehension. It’s to Ross’ credit that his work remains so thoroughly accessible and engrossing regardless.
- 100Village VoiceBilge EbiriVillage VoiceBilge EbiriBy sticking to his impressionistic perspective, by fracturing his narrative, Ross achieves something genuinely poetic — a film whose very lightness is the key to its depth.
- 100The New York TimesGlenn KennyThe New York TimesGlenn KennyThe filmmaker’s poetic logic is inextricable from his consciousness of race and community, and of his function and potential as an artist grappling with his own circumstances and those of the people he’s depicting. “Hale County This Morning, This Evening” is not a long film, but it contains whole worlds.
- 90Film ThreatFilm ThreatIt’s a film too real to be written. It was lived and continues to be lived in Alabama every day.
- 83The Film StageDaniel SchindelThe Film StageDaniel SchindelStructurally, Hale County This Morning, This Evening does not do much to distinguish itself from other contemporary vérité documentaries which focus on quotidian details within a certain milieu. But even so, it still finds value in the unique incidents it captures.
- 80Screen DailyAllan HunterScreen DailyAllan HunterThe film can be difficult to get a handle on, but eventually encourages you to surrender to its poetic moods and distinctive rhythms.
- 75Slant MagazineChristopher GraySlant MagazineChristopher GrayHale County dwells on the beauty of the everyday as it recognizes the fragility of individual lives.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterKeith UhlichThe Hollywood ReporterKeith UhlichAt its strongest, the film feels like kin to Kirsten Johnson’s great Cameraperson (2016), a free-associative nonfiction memoir comprised mostly of B-roll and personal footage. Though the subject here isn’t Ross himself (despite a few offscreen aural appearances) but an entire community that, in both micro- and macrocosmic senses, has remained historically unacknowledged and unseen.
- 67The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyThe A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyIf Ross had embraced anything like a narrative line, would it have taken away from the elemental imagery of his brief, unconventional film? One can’t really tackle life and what it means on both a personal and social level without prying into the people who live it. Ross keeps his distance—and in doing so, keeps Hale County’s potential at an arm’s length.
- 40Film Journal InternationalMaria GarciaFilm Journal InternationalMaria GarciaRoss’ debut is scattershot, and lacking in the consistent purpose that articulates a filmmaker’s intent.