57
Metascore
9 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75The PlaylistKevin JagernauthThe PlaylistKevin JagernauthWith a blitz of talking heads and graphs and technical jargon, Money For Nothing can be exhausting viewing at times, and it's certainly not the most cinematic experience... But it's never unclear.
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesBill StametsChicago Sun-TimesBill Stamets[An] informing if not inflaming documentary.
- 70VarietyGeoff BerkshireVarietyGeoff BerkshireA thoughtful, detailed chronicle of the Fed’s origins, responsibilities and shifting monetary policies.
- 63The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyActor Liev Schreiber’s voice-over narration is filled with sonorous urgency, but as the film’s commentators acknowledge, some ideas are a hard sell: How do politicians and regulators convince the public on the benefits of a financial diet when a spending spree sounds much more fun?
- 60Village VoiceVillage VoiceBruce may succeed in making you wary of the Fed, but, unfortunately, he's also likely to make you wary of his film.
- 60The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeMoney for Nothing feels less prophetic than generally handwringing -- it's just enough to produce vague worry in the unschooled without moving policymakers to do anything they're not already doing.
- 50The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerThe New York TimesNeil GenzlingerThe film doesn’t really live up to its subtitle. There is little sense of what kinds of debates take place at board meetings or how pressure is applied behind closed doors.
- 50Washington PostMichael O'SullivanWashington PostMichael O'SullivanThe film is less a look into the Fed’s head than a presentation of its history, going back even farther than its creation in 1913, in response to a series of early 20th-century banking panics.
- 50Boston GlobeMark FeeneyBoston GlobeMark FeeneyThe best thing about Money for Nothing is the many talking heads trying to explain what monetary policy is and what the Fed does: controlling the supply of money and, with any luck, guiding the economy.