70
Metascore
21 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 85CNNBrian LowryCNNBrian LowrySidney, a documentary from director Reginald Hudlin produced by Oprah Winfrey, does the actor justice, providing context, depth and considerable warmth in chronicling his remarkable life and trailblazing career.
- 80The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawThis documentary is a spirited rebuke to the “sellout” narrative which has been allowed to grow up around his career, and a paean of praise to his commitment, talent and heroism.
- In the end, Sidney is informative—it’s exciting to hear from him and from those who loved him, and from some of the people he influenced. But as evidenced by his two memoirs, This Life (1980) and Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography (2000), there’s much more in Poitier’s life and legacy that this documentary fails to explore.
- 75San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonSan Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonEven though the film is by the numbers, it offers younger generations who know nothing of Poitier’s life and groundbreaking work a look at this important actor and activist.
- 75Boston GlobeMark FeeneyBoston GlobeMark FeeneyCombining as it does great admiration with an acknowledgment of flaws, “Sidney” is like Ethan Hawke’s recent HBO Max documentary about Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman, “The Last Movie Stars.”
- 67The Film StageJared MobarakThe Film StageJared MobarakExpect a breezy affair with good-natured laughter and low stakes. You’ll learn some things and remember others en route to watching as Poitier’s legacy is reinforced with a carefully curated mix of family and friends driven by the sole goal to immortalize their hero.
- 63RogerEbert.comMarya E. GatesRogerEbert.comMarya E. GatesSidney works more as an explainer for why Sidney Poitier remains such an important figure in American history—not just Hollywood history—than it does as a warts-and-all biography of Sidney the man.
- 60The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe inescapable impression is of a picture buckling beneath the weight of its subject’s achievements. Yet there are moments when the focus shifts and the movie shrugs off its hagiographic shackles.
- 50The PlaylistRobert DanielsThe PlaylistRobert DanielsSidney functions as a loving memorial to the pioneering Black movie star who passed earlier this year, but it never suffices as more than a tepid first draft of his life. And it is never as groundbreaking as Poitier’s best work.
- 40TheWrapDan CallahanTheWrapDan CallahanThe early sections of Sidney are much stronger than what comes later, because it is Poitier himself telling the tale in interview footage and setting the expansive, very dramatic tone. He knew how to tell a story so that each nuance would make itself felt.