75
Metascore
22 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90The DissolveScott TobiasThe DissolveScott TobiasHeaven Knows What isn’t interested in merely exploring the world of New York City addicts. It wants to make their experiences felt, with the dissonant, amp-cracking roar of a punk anthem.
- 90Village VoiceMelissa AndersonVillage VoiceMelissa AndersonIn the thinly veiled version of her life that appears onscreen, the actress unforgettably shows the deadening toll of always being on the move, only to return to the exact same place.
- 83The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloThe A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloBecause there’s no real narrative — just the constant effort to score and survive, plus Harley’s dysfunctional on/off love affair with Ilya — Heaven Knows What doesn’t so much conclude as just stop, which is less than totally satisfying.
- 80VarietyScott FoundasVarietyScott FoundasHolmes may not have the polished technique of a formally trained actress, but she has an innate capacity for drama, and whether or not she can go on to play roles further removed from her own experience, she’s electrifying in this one.
- 80SalonAndrew O'HehirSalonAndrew O'HehirThere’s an honesty and ferocity to Heaven Knows What, a refusal to flinch from depicting the marginalized and despised underbelly of a caste-divided city.
- 75Slant MagazineKenji FujishimaSlant MagazineKenji FujishimaIf nothing else, Heaven Knows What is one of the most harrowing cinematic depictions of drug addiction in recent memory, reliant less on formal gimmickry than on close observation of behavior.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyThe Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyHeaven Knows What is a strange film, at once distancing and transfixing. If it's not as impactful as it might have been considering the experiences portrayed, it has potent atmosphere and an admirable refusal to put any kind of gloss on the bleak reality of its limbo world.
- 70The New York TimesNicolas RapoldThe New York TimesNicolas RapoldThe Safdie brothers capture a density of activity as endemic to the city as it is to Harley’s daily hustle. By tapping into her routines, instead of framing her along solely tragic lines, the filmmakers fashion a diary of experience that’s all the more absorbing.
- 60Los Angeles TimesMichael RechtshaffenLos Angeles TimesMichael RechtshaffenDespite the undeniable novelty of having Holmes on hand to keep it real, the absence of traditional character development ultimately takes its toll on viewer empathy.
- 50Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreThe novelty of having a real homeless junkie play a version of herself drives Heaven Knows What, a gritty hand-held character portrait of heroin addict life in New York today.