Name: Bolden
Genre: Drama
Released: May 3, 2019
Duration: 108 min
Rating: 50
Cast: Erik LaRay Harvey, Gary Carr, Ian McShane, JoNell Kennedy, Karimah Westbrook

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

RogerEbert.com Monica Castillo

May 3, 2019

The result is sometimes dizzying, enchanting or confounding, but it is certainly never boring. Read full review

Gary Goldstein

May 2, 2019

Unfortunately, the film, costarring Erik LaRay Harvey, Robert Ri’chard and Ian McShane, turns overly violent, raw and showy, undermining the glorious music (written, arranged and performed by Wynton Marsalis), superb period re-creation and Carr’s powerful lead turn. Read full review

Keith Uhlich

May 7, 2019

Since the lead character is effectively a mystery man, some lack of grounding is appropriate. Unfortunately, the impressionism — the improvisation, you might say, of this particular life (mirroring, one supposes, Bolden's approach to music) — is so dominant that it finally proves a crutch. Read full review

Scott Tobias

May 2, 2019

Pritzker and Rothschild’s script feels like such a composite of jazz biopics that its only in the performance sequences, parceled out stingily amid the misery, in which Bolden really comes alive. Read full review

Mike Scott

May 2, 2019

What we end up with is a film that contains many fine moments -- the young Bolden's discovery of rhythm, an imagined discussion on musical improvisation between Bolden and clarinetist George Baquet, a look at racial politics of the day -- but those moments don't quite coalesce into a consistently satisfying whole. Read full review

Oliver Jones

May 3, 2019

Most filmgoers will come away only mildly convinced of Bolden’s place as jazz’s inventor and even less sure that the movie they just saw spun a coherent or compelling narrative. Read full review

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User Reviews

Indiefilmlover

May 9, 2019

More of a curiosity piece, than a movie, "Bolden" has top-notch production values. Unfortunately, too much time is spent focusing on the tragedy of Bolden's life and not enough on what made him a great artist. The film would have been great as a short film, but insufficiently developed for aMore of a curiosity piece, than a movie, "Bolden" has top-notch production values. Unfortunately, too much time is spent focusing on the tragedy of Bolden's life and not enough on what made him a great artist. The film would have been great as a short film, but insufficiently developed for a feature. Recommended only for indie film fans and jazz aficionados.… Expand

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swing

May 3, 2019

The 5 stars are for the music only. If there's a soundtrack to buy, buy it and save yourself the time of watching this mess and the money it costs to go to the movies. Yes, there are some good scenes, particularly of the music being played by Buddy by Louie Armstrong, and the greatThe 5 stars are for the music only. If there's a soundtrack to buy, buy it and save yourself the time of watching this mess and the money it costs to go to the movies. Yes, there are some good scenes, particularly of the music being played by Buddy by Louie Armstrong, and the great musicians on the soundtrack. But, the movie itself is a disaster. There is no flow, no character development, and no sense of why all of this happened. It was a mystery and remains so. It's basically a vanity stream of consciousness fantasy by the writer or the director. It wasn't fun to watch.… Expand

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