Most critics find All the Beauty and the Bloodshed deeply moving, with praise centred on how Poitras connects Nan Goldin’s personal history, photography and campaign against the Sacklers. The reviews repeatedly single out Goldin’s candid storytelling and the use of her photographs and archival material to convey intimacy, grief and the life of her community. The protest footage also draws praise for its tension, while the interwoven accounts of art and activism give the documentary much of its force.
The spread runs from emphatic praise to isolated dissatisfaction, though support is overwhelming. Reservations concern how well the many subjects fit together: Slant Magazine finds the film somewhat unwieldy but still powerful, while Little White Lies sees a vague purpose and unresolved implications that weaken it. The main disagreement is therefore about the storytelling, rather than the interest of Goldin’s life or the value of her activism.
E
Evening Standard
6 March 2023 · ★★★★★ · Charlotte O'Sullivan
100
O'Sullivan calls it the best documentary of the year, while warning that it is emotionally devastating. She praises how Poitras intertwines Goldin's campaign against the Sacklers with the tragedies in Goldin's personal life.
Read the full review →I
IndieWire
3 September 2022 · A+ · Sophie Monks Kaufman
100
The critic calls the documentary a towering, emotionally powerful achievement. She praises how Poitras connects Goldin’s life, art, grief, and activism into a coherent whole.
Read the full review →H
The Hollywood Reporter
3 September 2022 · festival review · Sheri Linden
95*
Linden calls the documentary a sublime, gritty knockout and says its interwoven stories are likely to shake viewers to the core. She especially praises how Poitras and Goldin bring Goldin’s family history, artistic life, and activism together.
Read the full review →E
Empire
23 January 2023 · Ella Kemp
90*
Kemp finds the documentary urgent and deeply affecting in its portrait of Nan Goldin’s art and activism. She singles out the way Goldin’s photographic work gains added poignancy and political force on screen.
Read the full review →L
Los Angeles Times
1 December 2022 · Robert Abele
90*
Abele finds the documentary enthralling and exhilarating, showing how art and activism can create meaningful change. He especially praises Poitras’ suspenseful, artful interweaving of Goldin’s personal history, photographs and campaign against the Sacklers.
Read the full review →S
Sight and Sound
21 September 2022
90*
The critic finds the documentary tremendously moving and illuminating, unifying Goldin’s personal history with her activism. They praise its beautifully constructed storytelling and intimate use of Goldin’s voice and photography.
Read the full review →A
The AV Club
22 November 2022 · A- · Jordan Hoffman
90
Hoffman calls the documentary profound, deeply moving, and among the year’s best. He praises how Poitras brings Goldin’s activism and personal history together to reveal the consistency of her life’s work.
Read the full review →V
Vulture
23 November 2022 · Alison Willmore
90*
Willmore calls the documentary an incandescent, vital portrait that connects Goldin’s art, personal history, and activism. She praises the film’s depiction of Goldin and fellow activists disrupting the Sacklers’ cultivated respectability with protest.
Read the full review →G
The Guardian
28 January 2023 · Wendy Ide
85*
Ide finds the documentary gripping and stirring, praising its deft interweaving of Goldin’s biography and creative history with her campaign against the Sacklers. She especially singles out the nervy tension of the protest and covert-meeting footage.
Read the full review →i
The i Paper
27 January 2023 · Hettie Judah
85*
The critic finds the documentary remarkable, moving, and propelled by a strong sense of justice. She particularly praises how Poitras uses Goldin’s photographs and slideshows to reveal a life of intimacy, loss, and activism.
Read the full review →The review finds the documentary passionate and inspirational, presenting Goldin as a crucial witness and forceful activist. It singles out her frankness about painful experiences and the scope of her artistic and political work.
Read the full review →T
Time Out
18 January 2023 · ★★★★ · Phil de Semlyen
80
The review presents the documentary as a scathing takedown of the Sackler family. It singles out the collision of art, activism and the opioid crisis as its strength.
Read the full review →S
Screen Daily
3 September 2022 · festival review · Wendy Ide
75*
Ide finds the documentary absorbing and presents it as a compelling portrait of Nan Goldin’s campaign. She praises how Poitras places Goldin’s battle against the Sackler family alongside her artistic background.
Read the full review →S
Slant Magazine
18 September 2022 · ★★★/4 · Kenji Fujishima
75
The review finds the film somewhat unwieldy, but ultimately an affectionate and powerful portrait. It especially praises Goldin’s candid storytelling and the illuminating presentation of her photographic art.
Read the full review →V
Variety
3 April 2023 · festival review · Owen Gleiberman
75*
Gleiberman finds the documentary deft and satisfying, ultimately praising how it weaves Goldin’s art and activism together. He singles out Poitras’s excavation of the trauma underlying Goldin’s photographs and her resistance to unjust authority.
Read the full review →N
The New York Times
22 November 2022
65*
The critic’s verdict cannot be determined from the supplied page. No specific praise or criticism is available because the article content is inaccessible.
Read the full review →L
Little White Lies
festival review · Leila Latif
40*
Latif finds the documentary less than the sum of its parts, with a somewhat vague purpose. She praises Goldin’s extraordinary life and activism, but says the film’s many subjects and unresolved implications weaken the result.
Read the full review →C
Collider
28 November 2022 · A · Maggie Boccella
95
Boccella calls the documentary incendiary and argues its blend of art, community, and activism makes its message powerfully clear. She praises how Nan Goldin’s photography and personal story connect with her campaign against the Sacklers.
Read the full review →D
Deadline
3 September 2022 · festival review · Stephanie Bunbury
90*
Bunbury finds the documentary gripping and calls it a stupendous work. She especially praises how Poitras connects Goldin’s activism with her candid account of her life and photography.
Read the full review →P
Paste
23 November 2022 · 9.5 · Luke Hicks
90*
Hicks calls the documentary masterful and says it deepens appreciation for Nan Goldin’s life and work. He especially praises Goldin’s candid, compelling storytelling and the way her photographs speak for themselves.
Read the full review →W
The Wrap
8 December 2022 · festival review
90*
The critic praises the film as a masterful, intimate portrait that intertwines Goldin’s art and activism. They single out Poitras’s use of Goldin’s photographs and archival material for its vivid, moving restoration of the artist’s community.
Read the full review →E
Eye for Film
22 January 2023 · Andrew Robertson
85*
Robertson gives the documentary a strongly positive verdict, finding its considerable length worthwhile. He singles out the staggering intimacy of Goldin’s story and the film’s unflinching use of personal and archival material.
Read the full review →/
/Film
23 November 2022 · 8 out 10 · Lex Briscuso
83*
The critic calls the documentary a compelling, important portrait of Nan Goldin and her activism. They single out Poitras’s use of Goldin’s photographs and dark landscapes to convey her experiences.
Read the full review →S
The Skinny
24 January 2023 · ★★★★ · Patrick Gamble
80
The review finds the documentary profoundly moving and politically resonant. It praises how Poitras weaves Goldin’s intimate personal history together with her art and activism.
Read the full review →P
The Playlist
3 September 2022 · festival review
75*
The headline presents the film as a powerful, grief-focused portrait. It singles out Poitras’s rumination on grief, but the review text was inaccessible.
Read the full review →Ordered by the weight we give each publication, then by score. Scores are normalised to 100; * means inferred from an unrated review. Summaries are ours, not quotations; follow the links for the reviews themselves. How we rate