A Jazzman's Blues
Netflix | Release Date: September 16, 2022 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
62
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 13 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
4
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
TimeStephanie ZacharekSep 23, 2022
This is an ambitious, handsome-looking picture that strives to capture the essence of life in the deep South in the mid-20th century in a way that makes movie sense, without excessively romanticizing it. Read full review
80
The GuardianAndrew LawrenceSep 23, 2022
Everything about this film is genuinely absorbing. The performances are restrained. The locations, many of them seemingly on the Perry Studios lot, are lush. The musical numbers are decadent . . . The storytelling is efficient, the scenes well-paced, the command of social and racial politics ironclad. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennySep 23, 2022
A Jazzman’s Blues proves that when Perry applies himself in a particular fashion, his work can stand entirely on its own. Read full review
70
The New York TimesLisa KennedySep 23, 2022
A Jazzman’s Blues is packed with outsize emotions, but also grand themes. Read full review
70
VarietyOwen GleibermanSep 14, 2022
A Jazzman’s Blues overflows with melodrama, yet it isn’t staged broadly. It’s closer to Perry’s version of a Douglas Sirk film, one that takes a romance and heightens it until the complications are growing and twisting around it like vines. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattSep 23, 2022
[Perry] also has a way of making even the most telegraphed twists and overheated dialogue ring with conviction, a consummate entertainer to the end. Read full review
67
The PlaylistRobert DanielsSep 14, 2022
A Jazzman’s Blues is a passion project that climbs close to the edge of becoming self-indulgent fodder. The film is never as deep as it thinks it is. Nor is it terribly original either. But for Perry, this is a massive change. And while you shouldn’t praise a director for merely trying. Perry does more than try with “A Jazzman’s Blues.” He finally shows that he’s not a one-trick pony. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyeSep 14, 2022
A Jazzman’s Blues is overindulgent, a narrative feast of twists and turns. The formidable work of the cast paces us, helping viewers digest the plot and saving Perry’s screenplay from the collateral damage of its broad scope. Read full review
58
IndieWireKatie RifeSep 14, 2022
At its core, A Jazzman’s Blues is a soap opera full of shocking secrets, emotional confrontations, and one exceedingly satisfying slap.The mystery aspects are thin; anyone with passing knowledge of Black American history can infer early on who was killed, why, and by whom. Read full review
55
SlashfilmSarah MilnerSep 14, 2022
This is one of those movies where the soundtrack is far and wide the best element.  Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesCarlos AguilarSep 23, 2022
Notwithstanding the embellishments, this undoubtedly remains a Tyler Perry film — occasionally for better, but often for worse. Read full review
38
Movie NationRoger MooreJan 1, 2023
There’s no suspense, little that’s thrilling or that justifies any investment in this dawdling melodrama with music. Read full review
37
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottOct 5, 2022
Every narrative twist is telegraphed, every dramatic choice is expected, every character is one-dimensional, and every scene of heightened emotion is built around tin-ear dialogue. Read full review
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