68
Metascore
10 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisBecause this is also a document of an actress actually at work, much of the movie's pleasure comes from watching another brilliant performance take shape as Ms. Streep tries out different line readings, gestures and poses in her search for Mother Courage.
- 75Boston GlobeWesley MorrisBoston GlobeWesley MorrisWhat is the value of art in times of strife? Should people be sitting in the theater or rioting in the streets? Walter's film reminds us that once there was a man whose work made no distinction between the two.
- 75San Francisco ChronicleWalter AddiegoSan Francisco ChronicleWalter AddiegoIntriguing and educational. For partisans of Bertolt Brecht, it's mandatory.
- 70VarietyRonnie ScheibVarietyRonnie ScheibWhat emerges from Walter's docu is not a sense of failure, but a recognition that the play's the thing, enriched by every flawed performance, perfection almost irrelevant to its cry of anguish.
- 70New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinNew York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinAs a onetime dramaturg and Brechtian, I enjoyed the chin-wags and the glimpses of Streep in rehearsal--especially her quivering admission that she can't bear the thought of anyone seeing her process.
- 70Chicago ReaderAndrea GronvallChicago ReaderAndrea GronvallEngrossing and timely, this crackles with ideas about art, politics, religion, and the terrible costs of war.
- 67The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThough Theater Of War is informative--both about Brecht and about the effort it takes to mount a big New York production--Walter overreaches in trying to connect Brecht’s anti-war sentiment with contemporary protest movements, and doesn't do more than dabble with the themes of truth and representation in documentary filmmaking.
- 63Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertAll of this makes an interesting, if not gripping, film about the play, the playwright and the lead-up work to a stage production. It also leaves me wanting a great deal more.
- 60New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanPassionate and ambitious, John Walter's chronicle of a Public Theater production is too scattered for broad appeal. But those who connect with his themes will find themselves quickly drawn in.
- 50Village VoiceVillage VoiceWalter's doc can't decide whether it wants to be about Brecht, Streep, or Mother Courage herself.