--- title: "Daughters: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/daughters/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/daughters" critics_score: 77 critics_reviews: 16 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Daughters (2024): what the critics said Critics' score 77 from 16 reviews: 12 positive, 4 mixed, 0 negative. ## Los Angeles Times — Robert Abele Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 9 August 2024. Abele finds the documentary touching and achingly beautiful, making a heartfelt case for second chances. He praises the filmmakers’ emotional honesty and their willingness to show both hope and uncertainty around the father-daughter dance. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2024-08-09/daughters-review-documentary-netflix-prisoners-dance) ## The New Yorker Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). The critic calls the documentary an emotionally shattering, deeply empathetic work. They single out its portrait of the damage incarceration does to family intimacy and childhood innocence. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/daughters) ## Vulture — Bilge Ebiri Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 16 August 2024. Ebiri praises Daughters as an admirable, emotionally powerful documentary elevated by sensitive, artful filmmaking. He singles out its focus on the girls’ and fathers’ faces and the devastating perspective on how time changes their relationships. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/review-netflixs-daughters-documentary-is-a-must-watch.html) ## Variety — Lisa Kennedy Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 23 January 2024. Festival review. Kennedy finds the documentary quietly consequential and moving in its account of incarceration’s effects on families. She praises its compassionate attention to the girls and the intimate, lyrical filmmaking. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/daughters-review-1235884005/) ## IndieWire — David Ehrlich Rating B+. 25 January 2024. Festival review. Ehrlich praises the documentary as deeply moving while valuing its refusal to settle for easy sentiment. He singles out its final chapter for showing how the dance’s brief reunion meets the difficult realities that follow. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/daughters-review-documentary-1234948446/) ## The AV Club — Brent Simon Rating B+. 12 August 2024. Simon finds the documentary moving, compassionate, and emotionally resonant, while noting a missed opportunity to address a co-director’s connection to the program. He especially praises its artful filmmaking, including evocative cinematography and editing that give the girls’ inner lives room to emerge. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/daughters-review) ## Slant Magazine — Derek Smith Rating 3/4. 6 August 2024. The review finds the documentary quietly devastating and ultimately hopeful, while stressing that its program is no cure-all. It praises the film’s nuanced follow-ups, which avoid an easy sentimental ending and show how relationships can change over time. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/daughters-review-documentary/) ## The Guardian — Cath Clarke Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 6 August 2024. Clarke finds the documentary tender, painful and intimate, showing the human cost of mass incarceration through fathers and daughters. She particularly praises its close, emotionally affecting focus on four girls in the months before the prison dance. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/aug/06/daughters-review-heartbreaking-record-of-girls-and-their-imprisoned-fathers) ## Film Comment — Aaron M. Kinzer Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). The review presents the documentary as heartbreaking and moving. It singles out its exploration of the complex relationship between incarcerated fathers and their daughters. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/sea-of-love-daughters-review/) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Daniel Fienberg Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 23 January 2024. Festival review. Fienberg finds the documentary emotionally potent and likely to move viewers, though its structure and aesthetic choices blunt its advocacy. He singles out the father-daughter dance as devastatingly powerful, while criticizing the anticlimactic final stretch. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/daughters-review-documentary-1235803595/) ## Screen Daily — Nikki Baughan Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 23 January 2024. Festival review. The available standfirst presents the film as an effort to rebuild fractured father-daughter bonds through a prison dance. The review’s fuller verdict and any specific praise or criticism are unavailable behind the paywall. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/daughters-sundance-review/5189754.article) ## Digital Spy — Janet A Leigh Rating five-star. 15 August 2024. The critic calls the documentary deeply moving and praises its compassionate focus on fathers and daughters. They single out the decision to omit why the fathers are incarcerated as a choice that helps humanise them. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a61885701/daughters-documentary-netflix-review/) ## Paste — Natalia Keogan Rating 9.0. 14 August 2024. Keogan gives the documentary a tender, moving verdict, praising its nuanced portrayal of the strain incarceration places on families. She also singles out its artful camerawork, lighting and framing, especially during the dance. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/angela-patton/daughters-review) ## Deadline — Valerie Complex Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 29 January 2024. Festival review. The review finds the documentary moving and socially insightful, emphasizing the power of moments of joy amid hardship. It praises the girls’ candid reflections and the film’s focus on their experiences. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2024/01/daughters-review-bittersweet-bonds-between-fathers-daughters-separated-prison-1235807283/) ## The Playlist Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 22 January 2024. Festival review. The page could not be accessed, so the critic’s verdict and any singled-out praise or complaint are unavailable. The URL identifies a review of the 2024 film, but provides no review text. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/daughters-review-imprisoned-fathers-attempt-to-connect-with-their-children-in-this-emotion-soaked-documentary-sundance-20240122/) ## Eye for Film — Jennie Kermode Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 5 February 2025. Kermode finds the documentary important and moving, though its celebration of the dance leaves troubling ethical questions unresolved. She singles out Aubrey’s charisma and her story as the film’s emotional core. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/daughters-2024-film-review-by-jennie-kermode) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/daughters.md