Buck
Sundance Selects | Release Date: June 17, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
76
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 31 Critic Reviews
Positive:
27
Mixed:
3
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallJul 6, 2011
Buck is a movie to be revisited again and again, like passages from a satisfying self-help book. Riding experience isn't necessary to realize how extraordinary this man and his calling are. Read full review
100
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternJun 16, 2011
It keeps you fascinated, even enthralled; elicits astonishment, even wonderment, and makes you grateful for the chance to meet someone remarkable. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumJun 22, 2011
The result is a portrait that expertly mirrors its subject: Buck is shaped with the same economy, restraint, and unfussiness as the man, to unexpectedly inspiring effect. Read full review
91
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerJun 18, 2011
The riders who appear in Buck seem almost uniformly exalted by their contact with Brannaman and his methods. Read full review
90
SalonAndrew O'HehirJun 23, 2011
A haunting, beautifully told tale about a genuine American original. Read full review
90
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinJun 20, 2011
Meehl, in her directing debut, is attuned to the rhythms of Buck, who's attuned to the horses. Read full review
90
The New York TimesManohla DargisJun 16, 2011
In some sense it was beauty that saved Mr. Brannaman, that of his conscience and that of horses, which, having been tied to humans long ago, became companions, workers and for some, as this lovely movie shows, saviors. Read full review
88
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottJul 8, 2011
Seeing Brannaman work in the warm, sun-dappled documentary Buck makes it clear why he was such a perfect fit for Redford's film: Few people can handle horses the way Brannaman does. Read full review
88
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsJun 24, 2011
Beautifully but simply wrought by director Cindy Meehl, this deft documentary is a poignant reappraisal of what it means to be human. Read full review
88
Washington PostJohn DeForeJun 23, 2011
You don't have to be a horse nut to fall for Buck, one of those rare documentaries whose subject is so inherently fascinating that a fictional character could hardly compete. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianShawn LevyJun 23, 2011
The character who emerges in the breezy, somewhat meandering Buck is plain-spoken, heartfelt, compassionate, witty, and wise. His horse-training technique is based on understanding the psychology of animals and on attuning his human and equine clients with one another. Read full review
83
IndieWireEric KohnJun 14, 2011
Buck Brannaman, the subject of Cindy Meehl's engaging documentary profile Buck, has a warm presence and knows how to tame horses better than anyone else. Read full review
80
VarietyDennis HarveyJun 18, 2011
Warmly engaging Buck is a portrait of Buck Brannaman, a trainer whose remarkable way with equines provided a model for "The Horse Whisperer" in both novel and movie forms. Read full review
80
TimeMary PolsJun 18, 2011
Buck has the air of a beautiful little mystery; even knowing the uplifting outcome, you wonder at the strength that brought him to this place. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyJun 16, 2011
The film is deeply moving yet never maudlin in telling this hard-knocks-but-hope-infused story. Read full review
80
MovielineMichelle OrangeJun 16, 2011
Soft-spoken and stoical, Brannaman is a firm but sensitive presence in front of the camera and facing down a spooked horse. Read full review
80
Time OutJoshua RothkopfJun 14, 2011
This film's effectively wrought communion between once-spooked man and animal is more than enough for any entertainment. It rides easily into your heart. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJun 23, 2011
The documentary shows Buck over the course of a year, as he travels and teaches. Along the way, Robert Redford is interviewed about Buck's contribution to "The Horse Whisperer" (1998). Redford likes him, so he can't be a phony. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertJun 22, 2011
What I was left with was the goodness of Buck Brannaman as a man. He was dealt a hand that might have destroyed him. He overcame his start and is now a wise and influential role model. He does unto horses as he wishes his father had done onto him. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubSam AdamsJun 16, 2011
Perhaps Brannaman's art is too subtle and instinctive to be captured on camera, but it's a shame Meehl doesn't do a better job of capturing exactly what makes him, by all accounts, a miraculously successful trainer. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJ.R. JonesJun 23, 2011
Possibly the touchy-feeliest cowboy movie ever made. Read full review
70
Village VoiceMark HolcombJun 14, 2011
Meehl finds the real story in Brannaman's fractured past as a child celebrity trick-roper who, along with his older brother, Smokie, was systematically abused by his alcoholic father. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJun 12, 2011
A quietly captivating portrait of an unlikely character, Buck is as modest as its subject and wins viewers over just as easily. Read full review
70
Boxoffice MagazineRay GreeneJun 12, 2011
What makes this movie truly special is that the source of Buck's uncanny gift is actually an acute childhood sorrow. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerDavid HiltbrandJun 30, 2011
Brannaman is a fascinating character, but Buck is so tightly focused that only avid horse lovers will find it appealing. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy BurrJun 23, 2011
The man's mythology precedes him, and it's the movie's failing that we don't understand how or whether he uses that mythology because he knows it's good business. Read full review
63
Orlando SentinelRoger MooreJun 12, 2011
Taken on its own merits, this profile of "Buck" Brannaman is a pleasant and touching but somewhat superficial insight to the man and his methods. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanJun 16, 2011
Even if we can't live his cowboy life, Buck Brannaman's world is well worth visiting. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovJun 23, 2011
Meehl's documentary features plenty of interviews with cowboys and ranch hands who've had their lives – and their horses' lives – changed by Brannaman, but it lacks the literary or cinematic magic of either version of "The Horse Whisperer." Read full review
50
New York PostV.A. MusettoJun 17, 2011
Buck is best left to TV, where it will land soon. It's "The Horse Whisperer" that should be seen on the big screen. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineAndrew SchenkerJun 13, 2011
Life lessons abound in Buck, most of them tied to endlessly reiterated comparisons between man and horse. Read full review
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