Athlete A
Netflix | Release Date (Streaming): June 24, 2020 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
85
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 12 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0
Watch Now
Stream On

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonJun 22, 2020
Athlete A gives us the story behind the story. It’s a terrific journalism movie, but it’s also a story of young women who persevered and found justice against the odds. Read full review
91
IndieWireKate ErblandJun 23, 2020
Through even-handed reporting and a series of emotional first-person accounts, Athlete A excavates one of modern sports’ most horrific abusers and systems. It doesn’t do that by being preachy or shrill, instead working from one key belief: It must have started somewhere. Hopefully, Athlete A can contribute to ending it for good. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattJun 18, 2020
A measured if still-maddening look into the 2016 USA Gymnastics scandal. Read full review
90
Screen DailyFionnuala HalliganJun 18, 2020
From the very beginning of Athlete A, Cohen and Shenk (Audrie & Daisy and An Inconvenient Sequel) visually confront the audience with the clear physical evidence that their documentary is about abused children and they never let that image fade away. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comNell MinowJun 24, 2020
One former gymnast says, "The line between tough coaching and abuse gets blurred." This may be what it takes to win gold at the Olympics, but is it worth the cost? Read full review
85
TheWrapSteve PondJun 24, 2020
As with many of the other recent documentaries about abuse, it hits hard, making it difficult to watch without being both heartbroken and enraged by a system that, in the words of one gymnast, “would sacrifice our young to win.” Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesMichael OrdoñaJul 14, 2020
Like a lot of recent documentaries about the overdue reckoning for sexual predators in positions of power, Athlete A is a reminder that the rot is sometimes within the system itself, not just within the criminals it benefits. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinJun 24, 2020
Packaged as a standalone film, this fascinating and sensitively handled accounting shines a light on the abuse scandal that was exposed by the Indianapolis Star's investigative reporting into USA Gymnastics (USAG). Read full review
80
The New York TimesKristen Yoonsoo KimJun 24, 2020
Cohen and Shenk amplify the voices of the survivors while recognizing that Nassar’s arrest doesn’t dissipate the pain or deep-rooted exploitation. Read full review
80
The TelegraphTim RobeyJun 23, 2020
What’s striking about the film’s tone is its redemptive warmth. Though the details are chilling, it’s as if a cathartic space has been opened for these girls and their families to explain what they went through. Read full review
80
VarietyOwen GleibermanJun 21, 2020
Athlete A is a testament to their perseverance, and to the courage of all those who stood up in court to face the man who had violated their humanity. But it’s also a testament to the obsession that gave cover to their abuse — to a culture that wanted winners at any cost. Read full review
75
The Associated PressJake CoyleJun 25, 2020
The documentary, directed by Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk, is vigilant in widening is lens to capture the broader problems at USA Gymnastics. Read full review
More From This Movie

85 Critic Reviews

7.0 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL