64
Metascore
16 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerChristian Science MonitorPeter RainerKushner's proactive stance on gay rights is prominently aired and, to a lesser extent, so are his musings on the Arab-Israeli situation. His participation in the screenplay for Steven Spielberg's controversial "Munich" did not make it into the film.
- 70Village VoiceVillage VoiceThe film's both soothing--as an act of recording promise--and churningly emotive.
- 67Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment WeeklyWrestling with Angels could use some brouhaha: It's a bit too much of a pleasant air kiss from a fan, and doesn't engage inquisitively enough with Kushner's often controversial and very political ideas.
- 63New York PostLou LumenickNew York PostLou LumenickMock didn't find room for any of the many critics who accuse Kushner of being an anti-Zionist - and the film unfortunately ends in 2004, just before its subject began working on his controversial script for Steven Spielberg's "Munich."
- 60The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood ReporterAn adulatory documentary that could well have been titled "Ode to Kushner." As good-looking and well-crafted as it is -- cinematographers Eddie Marritz and Don Lenzer, who were on board for Mock's "Maya Lin," as well as Bestor Cram provide the rich visuals -- the film suffers from a crucial lack of perspective.
- 60The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenBest approached as an admiring portrait of a likable, creative powerhouse at midcareer. No disapproving voices interrupt the stream of praise for his politics and his art. Mr. Kushner’s place in the history of American theater and in American culture, in general, is left unexamined. These are subjects well worth exploring in another, deeper film.
- 60SalonAndrew O'HehirSalonAndrew O'HehirMany years in the making, Freida Lee Mock's documentary Wrestling With Angels paints an intimate and detailed portrait of playwright Tony Kushner, in the years since he became the most important living American dramatist. It's hard to avoid the conclusion that this is something of a booby prize.
- 50VarietyRobert KoehlerVarietyRobert KoehlerA golden opportunity to analyze the most vital and probably most creative contempo American playwright is missed in Freida Lee Mock's docu, Wrestling With Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner. Kushner's art demands a filmmaker of equally challenging artistry, able to plumb an opus based in polemics, politics and Brecht, instead of psychodrama.
- 50New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanFreida Lee Mock's adulatory portrait makes for pleasant viewing - but should it?