Burden
Film & TV House | Release Date: February 28, 2020 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
57
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
9
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
IndieWireKate Erbland
As Burden, Garrett Hedlund astonishes in a nuanced portrait of a man resistant to change, until he finally comes to understand that hatred is literally killing him. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranFeb 27, 2020
Using all his resources, Hedlund has created Mike Burden whole on screen in all his tormented awkwardness. Confused and conflicted, incapable of doing the right thing without recidivism and backsliding, this is hardly a conventional hero. Siding with the angels can seem like a snap in films, but Burden has the grace to show how difficult and wrenching a choice that can be. Read full review
80
VarietyAmy Nicholson
Hedlund’s humble, hard-to-love performance makes the aptly named Burden work as both a portrait of one weak-minded man, and as a study of the ideas people carry without questioning why. Read full review
75
The Film StageDan Mecca
There’s a lot to chew on here, and if Burden is ultimately buried by its muddled central character, it’s as much a testament to the filmmaker’s refusal to sugarcoat this story as it is a criticism of the final product. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreMar 14, 2020
Burden is still a movie of faith with more virtues than failings, more ambition than merely pandering and more topicality than we’d care to admit. Read full review
63
Washington PostMark JenkinsMar 6, 2020
Overlong and overstuffed with Southern rock and blues numbers, Burden is not exemplary filmmaking. But for viewers who can endure another spin through white-supremacist malice and ignorance, Hedlund and Riseborough make it a compelling ride. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliFeb 29, 2020
For all his passion to tell this story, Heckler doesn’t seem sure of the best way to conclude it. Read full review
63
The Associated PressMark KennedyFeb 26, 2020
For all of the inherent drama, it becomes clear that Burden, the man at the center of a film which bears his name, is really just a cipher, a sponge upon which we put meaning. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzJun 23, 2020
Typically, Whitaker can lend the sloppiest assignment some much-needed dignity, but here he gives far more than the easy and lazy script ever demands, so much so that you begin to feel sorry that he took the time and energy to do so. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleMar 3, 2020
Burden is a film of integrity, with something even better than a social conscience. It has a social purpose. If you see it, you’ll learn something. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoFeb 28, 2020
There are elements here, most of them embedded in another great physical performance from Garret Hedlund, that keep Burden from completely sinking into the Carolina mud. Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter TraversFeb 27, 2020
Wobbly but well-intentioned broadside against racism. Read full review
50
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisFeb 27, 2020
Though the themes of Burden feel uncomfortably current, their execution is leaden and dismayingly artless. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubKatie RifeFeb 26, 2020
Overly simplistic piece of Southern poverty porn, which asks questions it’s not really prepared to answer and proceeds from a set of dubious assumptions that undermine whatever nuance it does possess. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthy
It’s an eyebrow-raising true tale, one aided and abetted onscreen by the solid cast and strong sense of commitment. But Heckler is caught somewhere between being a journalistic historian and a dramatist without seeming expert at either. His screenplay connects all the dots of the story with no sense of shaping or modulation. Read full review
50
The PlaylistJordan Ruimy
What keeps Burden captivating are the performances, especially from Riseborough, Whitaker and Wilkinson, consummate pros that give their characters flesh and blood dimension. Read full review
40
The GuardianJordan Hoffman
This movie is about as subtle as a sledgehammer, with no shortage of cringeworthy moments and an uninteresting lead performance. Read full review
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