80
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83The Film StageChristopher SchobertThe Film StageChristopher SchobertWhat’s most unsettling and provocative about White Riot is how current it feels. Because of this, perhaps White Riot’s greatest achievement is that it takes something that can cause sneers and eye-rolling—committed cultural and political action—and make it feel both necessary and triumphant.
- 83Original-CinLiam LaceyOriginal-CinLiam LaceyThe film employs a punk-inspired cut-and-paste collages, smashing together footage of police and protestor clashes, rock concerts, television shows and political marches, all annotated with animated handwritten letters, posters, newspaper clippings, and excerpts from RAR’s fanzine, Temporary Hoarding.
- 80The New York TimesGlenn KennyThe New York TimesGlenn KennyOne of the many things that White Riot, a documentary about RAR directed by Rubika Shah, brings home is that the world could still use more somethings against racism.
- 80CineVueChristopher MachellCineVueChristopher MachellWhite Riot is a belligerently hopeful film: Shah vividly depicts the insidious violence of racism, but she also renders its futility in the face of community, and of music’s limitless power to unite and strengthen.
- 80The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawAn excellent brief documentary about a heroic grassroots political movement whose importance reveals itself more clearly in retrospect with every year that passes.
- 80The Irish TimesDonald ClarkeThe Irish TimesDonald ClarkeWhite Riot is here both to educate and to serve the nostalgists.
- 80The Observer (UK)Simran HansThe Observer (UK)Simran HansRubika Shah’s smart, spirited feature debut is a whistle-stop tour of a DIY uprising.
- 80Screen DailyDemetrios MatheouScreen DailyDemetrios MatheouGiven the recent debates about British identity and the spike in race hatred and racially motivated crime – all as a result of Brexit – the timing of White Riot couldn’t be more apt.
- 80Rolling StoneDavid FearRolling StoneDavid FearThe filmmaker has given us a pitch-perfect, punk-as-fuck portrait of a movement. She’s also reminded us that, regardless of bygone victories, the fight still goes on. Here’s a blueprint for resistance.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterStephen DaltonThe Hollywood ReporterStephen DaltonWhite Riot is a timely, engaging exercise in social and cultural history, but a wider focus might have given it deeper context and broader marketability.