82
Metascore
7 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90Village VoiceCalum MarshVillage VoiceCalum MarshThe faults and merits of the free-school movement are elucidated with a steely, journalistic rigor. More surprising is that this candid glimpse plays as exhilarating drama.
- 88Slant MagazineSlant MagazineThe film's 90 minutes are a disorienting cyclone of destructive incidents and propulsive energy.
- 88RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzRogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzThe movie is significant as a movie: it's intelligent, sensitive and expertly made. But it's also significant because of its ability to provoke introspection and arguments. In its deceptively modest way, it's as much a Rorschach test as "American Sniper." Everybody who sees it will draw a different picture of the elephant.
- 80The DissolveScott TobiasThe DissolveScott TobiasMuch of the observational brilliance of Approaching The Elephant comes from how closely form relates to content: Out of chaos comes order, both at Teddy McArdle and in the film, which brings the personalities and conflicts into sharper focus as it goes along.
- 70The New YorkerRichard BrodyThe New YorkerRichard BrodyAmanda Rose Wilder’s nuanced and passionate documentary, about the first year of a “free” elementary school in New Jersey, reveals the glories and the limitations of unstructured classrooms and observational filmmaking alike.
- 70The New York TimesNicolas RapoldThe New York TimesNicolas RapoldMs. Wilder, in her debut feature, riskily opts to leave much of the children’s educational activity fairly vague. Which gives it one more thing in common with school: You need to pay attention.