61
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumThe soft-spoken, impressionistic documentary (with a hypnotic score built from the sounds of construction) climaxes with a six-minute helicopter-cam view of the colossal structure to which these somebodies have been dedicating their sweat, and sometimes their very lives.
- 80VarietyRobert KoehlerVarietyRobert KoehlerLeo Heiblum's pulsating music and Samuel Larson's dense, fascinating sound editing rewardingly compliment Rulfo's electrifying visuals.
- 80The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisWith In the Pit [Rulfo] isn't advancing any totalizing theory, a treatise on transportation or an argument about alienation; he is, rather simply and elegantly, revealing the secret human face of a seemingly inhuman world.
- 75The A.V. ClubScott TobiasThe A.V. ClubScott TobiasRulfo's simple strategy of sticking close to his subjects and allowing them to wax philosophical about their lives and labors pays off.
- 75New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoRulfo adds punch to his material with speeded-up visuals and an eye-popping, six-minute helicopter shot of the entire 10-mile project - which alone is worth the price of admission.
- 63Boston GlobeWesley MorrisBoston GlobeWesley MorrisIt's an interesting, if dissatisfying rumination on the working people of industry -- how they labor, how they rest, what they think and feel.
- 50Washington PostPhilip KennicottWashington PostPhilip KennicottWhat Rulfo needs, unfortunately, is what too many trendy directors forsake: some social context, some succinct voice-overs and some talking heads to put the serious issues (urban poverty, urban stress, environmental degradation, corruption) into perspective.
- 40Film ThreatFilm ThreatCaptures the building of the freeway as well as the lives of the people working on it. The problem is, the lives of the people aren't all that interesting and the freeway being built isn't either.
- 40Village VoiceVillage VoiceIn the Pit's empathy feels strictly skin-deep, its insight even shallower.
- Equally as perplexing as its lack of perspective is the film's overall shortage of information.