Becoming Cousteau
Picturehouse | Release Date: October 22, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
74
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
VarietyOwen GleibermanNov 3, 2021
Becoming Cousteau, Liz Garbus’s ardent and transporting documentary, is one of those movies that puts a life together so beautifully that you feel it heightening your awareness of everyday things. Read full review
90
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriOct 29, 2021
In restoring Cousteau’s human side, Becoming Cousteau shows us both his brilliance and his shortcomings, and it suggests that these extremes were fundamentally connected. He was soft-spoken and modest on the surface yet consumed by an ambition that was driven as much by his remorse as by his vision. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayOct 20, 2021
What this fascinating, thoughtful documentary is really about is how even an icon can evolve. The “becoming” part of a life never really ends. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleOct 22, 2021
Becoming Cousteau may not be as deep a journey as some would hope, but for having to chart a lot of years, it hits its points about passion, fame and activism smartly, even movingly. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckSep 17, 2021
Consistently engrossing as well as informative, the film delivers a richly humanistic portrait of a complex, indefatigable figure who introduced multiple awestruck generations to the wonders beneath the sea. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleSteve DavisOct 20, 2021
Though this capable documentary is comprehensively informative in so many ways (perhaps to a fault), the one thing it doesn’t quite convey is the wonder and marvel of the undersea world of Cousteau, which continued to move him until his death at age 87. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comTomris LafflyOct 22, 2021
While it on the whole doesn’t feel as engrossing as some of the filmmaker’s former, more innovative movies (the terrific What Happened, Miss Simone? comes to mind), Becoming Cousteau is still as immersive and warmly inviting as non-fiction biographies come. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonOct 20, 2021
As the documentary was produced by National Geographic with the cooperation of the Cousteau Society, Garbus has access to some fabulous, colorfully restored footage, some of it never before seen, that makes this an eye-popping experience — in theaters especially. Read full review
75
The PlaylistChris BarsantiSep 17, 2021
Where “Becoming Cousteau” frustrates at times is its thin treatment of Cousteau’s work. The films and shows are represented with plentiful footage but not truly discussed or differentiated. It’s an odd choice, given Cousteau’s cinematic obsession. Read full review
70
The New York TimesA.O. ScottOct 21, 2021
It’s a swift-moving, detailed biography, recounting a life that was long, eventful and stippled with tragedy and regret. Read full review
70
Screen DailyAllan HunterSep 17, 2021
Garbus’s approach is respectful, never hagiographic and allows room for consideration of Cousteau’s professional regrets and personal failings. Read full review
67
IndieWireKristen LopezSep 17, 2021
Garbus takes the standard documentary route of examining Cousteau’s life from birth to death, and while individual elements of his life are compelling in the first half, the documentary seems to come alive more towards its second half. Maybe that’s because Cousteau was just doing so much toward the latter half of his career, but the pacing seems to feel livelier the closer things get to the end. Read full review
63
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanOct 19, 2021
Cousteau is a thorough if somewhat by-the-book profile of a pioneer in the field of marine ecology and an activist for better environmental stewardship. Read full review
60
Little White LiesMarina AshiotiNov 22, 2021
Garbus never tries to conceal Cousteau’s flaws. For her, in order to understand where we are now, we first need to understand where we came from, and Cousteau represents that touchpoint. Read full review
60
The GuardianPhil HoadNov 10, 2021
Becoming Cousteau is no hagiography, but greater distance might have also allowed Garbus to reflect more on the man’s environmental legacy. Read full review
60
TheWrapElizabeth WeitzmanSep 17, 2021
“Becoming Cousteau” could have used a little more focus on his earthly experiences. Read full review
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