51
Metascore
8 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 63The Seattle TimesTom KeoghThe Seattle TimesTom KeoghPerhaps in an effort to tell a PG story about an all-ages storyteller, Te Ata lacks vitality, pulling its punches and sometimes resorting to a cheesy shorthand. (A scene featuring Greene’s reservation leader and a racist senator is especially cheap.) Despite that, Te Ata lingers in the memory as a tale of an artist’s promise — and fulfillment.
- 63Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreTe Ata may not be an Oscar contender, but it is well-acted, touching and certainly good enough to deserve this Netflix curtain call.
- 60Village VoiceVillage VoiceNathan Frankowski’s biopic has the saccharine, deliberate feel of a Hallmark movie, that doesn’t make the woman at its center any less inspirational.
- 60Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinLos Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinThe film rarely soars with the kind of authentic spirit and passion needed to fully sell this decidedly old-fashioned material.
- 60The New York TimesTeo BugbeeThe New York TimesTeo BugbeeThe movie’s driving force is its mythic performance scenes, which are choreographed, sung and acted with clear, balletic conviction by the film’s star, Q’orianka Kilcher.
- 50VarietyNick SchagerVarietyNick SchagerThe well-intentioned biopic is ungainly, overtly articulating everything it doesn’t need to yet failing to explain much of what starts out as unclear about the tale.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThat the film works to the extent that it does is largely due to the superb performance by Kilcher, who imbues her starring turn with a radiance and magnetism that makes you fully believe in her character's ability to woo audiences
- 37Washington PostPat PaduaWashington PostPat PaduaSimultaneously earnest yet maudlin, Te Ata lacks the one thing its subject is said to have possessed: a gift for storytelling.