82
Metascore
17 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100The Film StageRory O'ConnorThe Film StageRory O'ConnorIn The Realm of Perfection is in essence about that most slippery of topics: the beauty of the game. Sport might tell the truth, but perhaps only cinema can capture it.
- 100Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreJohn McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection is quite simply the greatest tennis film ever made and one of the finest documentaries to honor any sport.
- 100The New York TimesWesley MorrisThe New York TimesWesley MorrisMr. Faraut’s impressionistic conflation of humor, wonder, horror and sympathy whisks this movie to the deluxe suite of the pleasure palace.
- 90Screen DailyNikki BaughanScreen DailyNikki BaughanDirector Julien Faraut, who oversees the French Sport Institute’s 16mm film collection, showcases masterful command of the documentary form. His insightful, entertaining and often humorous film will appeal to fans of McEnroe, tennis and sport in general.
- 90Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlVillage VoiceAlan ScherstuhlFaraut’s film doesn’t just put us courtside — it steeps us in the legend’s boiling mind.
- 90The New YorkerAnthony LaneThe New YorkerAnthony LaneWhat lingers, when this movie is done, are not the regular rallies, during which we survey the whole court, but those moments when we focus on McEnroe alone — on the dancing shuffle of his feet as he bobs and races for a return. Swap the sneakers for tap shoes and the dusty clay for a mirrored floor, and we could be watching Fred without Ginger, lost in the delirium of his art.
- 83IndieWireDavid EhrlichIndieWireDavid EhrlichFaraut is able to conflate the cinema’s quixotic obsession with reality with the athlete’s similarly impossible dream of perfection. In its own playful way, his film celebrates the beautiful folly of both pursuits.
- 80VarietyJessica KiangVarietyJessica KiangWhat on paper might be a standard sporting bio-doc, largely relevant only to tennis aficionados or fans of John McEnroe at the height of his powers, instead becomes a lovely meditation on time and movement, dedication and obsession, image and perception.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyThe Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneySpry and playful at times, pedantic and ponderously repetitive at others, the film is French down to its sweaty tennis socks and ultimately a touch too self-satisfied in its clever unconventionality.
- 50Slant MagazineJosh WiseSlant MagazineJosh WiseThe documentary's labored juxtapositions create fission, the feel of a director scrambling to dictate the game.