75
Metascore
10 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 91The Film StageJacob OllerThe Film StageJacob OllerDon’t Blink is the rare documentary both vague enough to whet your appetite and specific enough to imbue a sense of kinship with its subject, like an old friend from camp you haven’t seen in decades. Like Frank himself, the film chugs ever forward as an elaborate, chaotic, grumpy, optimistic mess.
- 90The New York TimesA.O. ScottThe New York TimesA.O. ScottYou leave with a vivid sense of the man’s living presence and a reasonably thorough account of his life, work and associations. Given the sheer volume and variety of the work in question, this is an impressive achievement.
- 90Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlVillage VoiceAlan ScherstuhlIsrael's willingness to honor Frank's own vision powers the film.
- 90Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLos Angeles TimesKenneth TuranRather than being a film about an artist, it’s an attempt to show us what it's like to actually be an artist.
- 88Slant MagazineElise NakhnikianSlant MagazineElise NakhnikianLike the work it illuminates, the doc feels formally impeccable yet utterly unstaged, a vivid distillation of a distinct and precious life.
- 88The Globe and Mail (Toronto)James AdamsThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)James AdamsDon’t Blink is a friendly film by a friend – honest and historically aware, but almost unfailingly affectionate and attuned to the “spontaneous intuition” that, 92 years after his birth, still seems the governing principle of Frank’s life.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckAlthough a bit too diffuse to fully realize its potential, the documentary is an evocative portrait of its subject.
- 50The PlaylistThe PlaylistIn embracing the disorienting quality present in Frank’s work, 'Don’t Blink' is but an abstract portrait, muddled by a jarring messiness.
- 50VarietyNick SchagerVarietyNick SchagerIt’s a unique, associative blend of sounds and images that aims to convey details as well as underlying truths about Frank’s life. Unfortunately, it also often leaves one feeling aesthetically pummeled to the point of exhaustion.
- 38New York PostFarran Smith NehmeNew York PostFarran Smith NehmeFrank’s work is phenomenal, but his longtime editor and collaborator Laura Israel seems determined during the course of her documentary never to give you a moment long enough to contemplate it.