88
Metascore
16 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThere is mostly sadness and regret at the surface in 4 Little Girls, but there is anger in the depths, as there should be.
- 100San Francisco ChronicleEdward GuthmannSan Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann4 Little Girls brilliantly captures a moment in American history and tells an achingly painful story of injustice and family loss.
- 100Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittChristian Science MonitorDavid SterrittThe film's approach is highly instructive, deeply moving, and geared to deploring the racism that breeds violence rather than reactivating old hatreds.
- 90The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsThe A.V. ClubKeith PhippsAn important act of historical preservation, a focused and effective film that brings back a dark, important moment in history with startling clarity.
- 88ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliIt is Lee's job as a film maker to imbue these images with life, and that's a task he easily accomplishes.
- 83Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment WeeklySurprisingly, given Lee's penchant for experimentation, there's nothing remotely innovative about this sober, often intensely moving exploration of a community's lingering grief and outrage -- just the usual talking heads, stock footage, montages of stills, and such.
- 80The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinMr. Lee, whose lean, straightforward documentary style loses none of his usual clarity and fire (the film has been exceptionally well shot by Ellen Kuras), summons a powerful sense of Birmingham's past and a galvanizing sense of how this bombing would change its future.
- 80Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumThere isn't an ounce of flab or hype, and the story it tells is profoundly affecting.
- 80L.A. WeeklyL.A. WeeklyThe film is artfully made, its occasional excesses of style moderated by the plain force of the content and the passion of the testimony.
- 75San Francisco ExaminerSan Francisco ExaminerThe movie is strongest when Lee keeps his eye on the prize: the experiences of ordinary people in an extraordinary time.