73
Metascore
9 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeBarkan proves a highly engaging man, impassioned but funnier than a terminally ill man should be. Intimate scenes with his young family are essential to the appeal of a film whose big issues remain as pressing now as they were during filming in 2018.
- 80VarietyTomris LafflyVarietyTomris LafflyAlong with his editor Kent Bassett, Bruckman weaves these events together rather conventionally yet thoughtfully, making plenty of room for Barkan’s home life and appealingly chipper character that he somehow manages to maintain through all his battles.
- 78Austin ChronicleCody SongAustin ChronicleCody SongThe film shines when we get to see Barkan as a fully formed figure.
- 75Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreNot Going Quietly lets us see a fierce, and dying, advocate for health care show us what John Lewis meant by “Good trouble.”
- 75RogerEbert.comNell MinowRogerEbert.comNell MinowHealth care is unquestionably one of the most complicated problems the government ever has to grapple with, even without the obstacles and obfuscation from dark money and corporate lobbyists. We do not need a briefing book, but the film would be more effective if it clarified some of the priorities Barkan and his group are advocating.
- 70The New York TimesTeo BugbeeThe New York TimesTeo BugbeeIt is a warm and generous portrait, but the film lacks its central organizer’s propulsive shrewdness.
- 70TheWrapSimon AbramsTheWrapSimon AbramsNot Going Quietly credibly highlights the “moral stakes” of Barkan’s cause, as one of his colleague says, with a welcome mix of candor and artful consideration.
- 60The GuardianLeslie FelperinThe GuardianLeslie FelperinSmart, funny and endearingly sweary even when he loses the power to speak without computer assistance, Barkan is a charismatic character who’s easy to like, although one wonders how much the documentary crew resisted showing anything that might dent the halo the film sets round his head.