Black or White
Relativity Media | Release Date: January 30, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
45
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 30 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
13
Negative:
7
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsJan 29, 2015
A textured and unexpectedly entertaining drama about the human toll when racial assumptions crash. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperJan 29, 2015
Costner’s performance is filled with memorable moments. Read full review
75
ObserverRex ReedJan 28, 2015
Good acting and plenty to think about, but a better director than Mike Binder would have made a better film. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreJan 27, 2015
“Selma” wasn’t the only film about race to get short shrift from Oscar voters this past year. Black or White is a frank, touching and very well-acted melodrama about child custody and cultural perceptions of “blackness” and “the race card,” and could have earned Octavia Spencer and Kevin Costner fresh Oscar nominations. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinDec 2, 2014
The filmmaker and his on-screen proxies boldly go places our national discourse desperately needs to go, yet rarely does. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerSep 12, 2014
Black and White never panders too easily to sentiments, creating characters who are riddled with flaws but likeable all the same. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaFeb 2, 2015
A boldly sappy melodrama that plays on - and off - racial stereotypes. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzJan 30, 2015
It's often painful, and not in a good way; it's painful because of the roads it doesn't explore, the shortcuts it takes, and the special pleading it can't stop itself from indulging in. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJan 29, 2015
The film is by no means perfect and its goals are undermined by a sloppy climax and conclusion but it avoids preaching while providing fodder for thought. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy BurrJan 29, 2015
Despite the best of intentions, a career-best performance from Kevin Costner, and outstanding work by Octavia Spencer and child actor Jillian Estell, Black or White succumbs to some of the same stereotypes it tries to dispel. Read full review
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