Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry
Apple TV+ | Release Date (Streaming): February 26, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
70
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
19
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
ConsequenceNatalia BarrFeb 25, 2021
The World’s a Little Blurry is an honest depiction of what it’s like to be a teenage girl. What makes that successful portrayal even more moving is that this particular teenage girl’s life is so untypical to begin with. Although the film runs long, it’s hard to point out any scene that could be cut, because every moment adds to the collage that is Billie Eilish’s world. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleJenny NulfFeb 26, 2021
Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry is like an epic emo video diary entry. It’s sentimental, reflective, and is layered with great music (and great music shirts – shout out to Eilish’s father’s incredible Phoebe Bridgers tee collection.) Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperFeb 26, 2021
Even though Eilish has been a ubiquitous presence on the pop culture landscape for the last few years, this movie serves as an intimate and revealing filmed document. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattFeb 25, 2021
As her success spikes exponentially, so does the film's momentum, shifting toward the more familiar touchstones of a traditional music doc: The smear of foreign cities seen through a town-car window; the endless roundelay of interviews, meet-and-greets, and promo signings. Read full review
83
IndieWireDavid EhrlichFeb 25, 2021
The emotional rawness of that super-real encounter is typical of what viewers will find scattered across Cutler’s film, an 135-minute opus — complete with intermission! — that indulges Eilish fans without alienating casual passersby. Read full review
80
The Irish TimesEd PowerFeb 26, 2021
An absorbing peek behind the pop-star curtain from the veteran documentarian RJ Cutler, maker of The War Room and The September Issue. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalLiana Van NostrandFeb 25, 2021
The result is a raw look at not just celebrity, but also what it is to parent and grow up in the 21st century. Read full review
80
VarietyOwen GleibermanFeb 25, 2021
I’d call it a deftly sincere and canny portrait, one that works precisely because it takes the time to sweat the small stuff. Read full review
80
The GuardianAdrian HortonFeb 25, 2021
Its strongest element, aside from Eilish herself, is the generosity and empathy afforded to the experience of fandom. Read full review
78
TheWrapSteve PondMar 5, 2021
It’s not full of revelations about a young woman who has always been frank and open about her insecurities and mental health issues, but it feels honest and delivers some nuance in the way it celebrates and explores its subject. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubAlex McLevyFeb 25, 2021
A peek behind the curtain of her private life during this tumultuous rise to international fame is the draw of the film, and The World’s A Little Blurry manages to deliver a compelling and intimate portrait of Billie Eilish without ever coming across as carefully PR-approved or evading knottier aspects of her life. Read full review
70
PolygonJoshua RiveraMar 1, 2021
In spite of its roughly chronological timeline, The World’s A Little Blurry is formless, less a slickly crafted come-up story and more a long compilation of vignettes, many of which don’t linger long enough. It’s like scrolling through someone’s smartphone to get a sense of what their year was like: some of the discoveries are amazing, and the rest leaves questions behind. Read full review
70
TimeJudy BermanFeb 26, 2021
It’s a complex, observant and overwhelmingly (if unsurprisingly; the film was co-produced by her label, Interscope) flattering portrait. And, if they can sit tight through too many similar home-recording scenes, it should help the perplexed appreciate her appeal. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesMikael WoodFeb 25, 2021
The portrait is of an imaginative, ultra-talented teenager whose poise onstage belies the ordinary insecurities in her head. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzFeb 25, 2021
In Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry, director R.J. Cutler’s film about the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, he allows the audience to come in its own time to what seems obvious by the end: For all of her talent, which is considerable, and her brilliance as a recording artist, Eilish is a teenager trying to figure out her place in the world. Read full review
67
The PlaylistAlly JohnsonFeb 28, 2021
Whether you’re a fan of her music or not — and for as many die-hard fans as there are, there’s plenty of dissenters — it’s fascinating to watch a singer come into her own, establishing her still-forming identity in a rapidly shifting industry. Hopefully, Cutler will stick around, watch the development and, see what more can emerge in the future. Read full review
63
The Associated PressLindsey BahrFeb 26, 2021
This does not come across as a vanity project that’s been intensely controlled by the star or the machinery around her, either. It’s refreshing. It’s also probably one of the last times we’ll all be invited into her life in this way. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comMonica CastilloFeb 26, 2021
We’re seeing a then-17-year-old Eilish change her style, come into her own and demand control of her image, right down to directing her own music videos. We’re watching the birth of a star, an exhilarating and sometimes excruciating experience. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreFeb 25, 2021
140 minutes of “fly on the wall” filmmaking, mostly of Eilish performing, songwriting (or avoiding it, as her brother complains), doing photo shoots and radio interviews and peaking at Coachella is a bit much. Read full review
60
EmpireElla KempMar 2, 2021
A respectful look at the rise of the world’s biggest musical sensation, from her own perspective and those closest to her. A treat for fans, but too conventional to fully do justice to the extraordinary phenomenon. Read full review
60
The New York TimesJon CaramanicaFeb 25, 2021
“Blurry” isn’t triumphant, strictly speaking. Instead, it relies on the accretive power of the mundane. It moves forward without narration, and sometimes without narrative rhythm — often it feels almost observational, like a nature film. Read full review
55
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerFeb 25, 2021
The heart of the needlessly lengthy 140-minute film is Eilish’s support system, which is to say her family – a screenwriter mother, a construction worker father and her older brother/producer/songwriting partner Finneas O’Connell. They’re all grounded, thoughtful and dedicated to the protection of a self-loathing teen who is coming of age in front of the world. Read full review
40
The TelegraphRobbie CollinJun 4, 2021
Here and elsewhere, you sense the film knows more than it’s prepared to share, which gives it the queasy sheen of a PR exercise. Read full review
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