65
Metascore
19 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83The A.V. ClubDavid EhrlichThe A.V. ClubDavid EhrlichRossi’s scathing (yet seemingly fair) documentary doesn’t just illustrate the institutional ironies of modern education. It also strives to understand why tuition is at an all-time high when knowledge is practically free.
- 80Time OutJoshua RothkopfTime OutJoshua RothkopfYou feel for the potential Wesleyan parent who asks an administrator if his daughter is going to have to move home after graduating: His question is met with an uneasy pause. Crucial stuff.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyThe Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyEndlessly stimulating and provoking, Ivory Tower presents a solid overview of an urgent problem that some claim is about to implode and others believe can be worked through with the intelligent application of fresh ideas.
- 70Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLos Angeles TimesKenneth TuranThis film throws an enormous amount of information at us both in terms of original interviews and archival footage from more than 100 sources, but it's too sophisticated to suggest that any one-size-fits-all solution is lurking just over the horizon.
- 63Slant MagazineNick McCarthySlant MagazineNick McCarthyThe documentary is more interested in covering all its bases than making sure it fully has its foot on each base.
- 63McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreMcClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreAndrew Rossi’s documentary is a bit scatter shot in its approach.
- 60Village VoiceDaphne HowlandVillage VoiceDaphne HowlandWhat the film does accomplish is making you think, especially about how universities are spending their ever-increasing tuition on top-notch campus amenities and their own disastrous loans, and how state governments and federal agencies are similarly passing off their education cuts onto the young people who they expect to one day run the economy and society.
- 60New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierNew York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierThis insightful doc from director Andrew Rossi addresses topics that get more polarizing each year: the high cost of college, the factors that dictate who’s educated in this country and the culture that surrounds those decisions.
- 50The DissolveNathan RabinThe DissolveNathan RabinIvory Tower asks a lot of provocative, important questions, but it’s decidedly short on answers, and even shorter on satisfying or convincing answers.
- 50The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerThe New York TimesNeil GenzlingerIvory Tower, a documentary about soaring costs and other problems confronting higher education, can’t seem to decide what points it wants to make and ends up making none.