68
Metascore
12 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100CineVueJohn BleasdaleCineVueJohn BleasdaleThe vision of the black American experience might be grim, but it is never miserablist or despairing. The songs, the traditions, the love and the community are still there, even if the world seems to be undeniably on fire.
- 100The New York TimesBen KenigsbergThe New York TimesBen KenigsbergThe movie unfolds impressionistically. To call it a portrait of collective resilience is accurate, but that description shortchanges its richness on both human and historical scales.
- 83The A.V. ClubThe A.V. ClubMinervini is not at his most provocative in What You Gonna Do When The World’s On Fire? That’s a good thing.
- 80Screen DailyLee MarshallScreen DailyLee MarshallShot with grace and sensitivity in black and white using available and natural light, What You Gonna Do is a visual treat, the easiest on the eye of all the director’s films to date. It is also, for all its unevenness, a stirring, committed portrait of black lives at a crossroads in the American South.
- 63Slant MagazineChuck BowenSlant MagazineChuck BowenThe film is beautiful and occasionally quite moving, but its subject matter deserves more than art-house irresolution.
- 60VarietyJay WeissbergVarietyJay WeissbergWhile always attractive, the look conveys a level of non-spontaneous construction that often takes away from the potency of hard, brutal reality.
- 58The Film StageEthan VestbyThe Film StageEthan VestbyOne’s pulse is not raised much during the two-hour runtime. This is especially disappointing from a director who has made sure to capture parts of America no other filmmakers seem to want to touch with a ten-foot pole.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyThe Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyThis is in many ways a frustrating film, its commitment admirable but its execution chaotic.
- 50TheWrapCandice FrederickTheWrapCandice FrederickIt’s the most unproductive type of sociopolitical film, especially in today’s climate, in that it aims to incite but not to motivate.