By the Grace of God
Music Box Films | Release Date: October 18, 2019 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
75
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 21 Critic Reviews
Positive:
17
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
ObserverRex ReedOct 22, 2019
By the Grace of God is still one of the best films of 2019. Read full review
100
TheWrapCarlos AguilarOct 20, 2019
Ozon manages to instill a measured touch into every argument, outburst, and testimony, matching the naturalistic cinematography (by Manuel Dacosse, “Let the Corpses Tan”) and bestowing on us the most important and assured movie on this treacherous topic made this decade. Read full review
100
The New York TimesGlenn KennyOct 17, 2019
By the Grace of God is a rarity: An important film that’s also utterly inspired. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangOct 24, 2019
In lieu of poetry, [Ozon] has composed an exemplary piece of prose: clear, direct and quietly illuminating. At the same time, you would hardly describe this movie as neutral or devoid of anger. On the contrary, its moral outrage is all the more pronounced for being so controlled. Read full review
83
Original-CinLiam LaceyOct 17, 2019
Ozon’s film evolves less as a procedural story than a character study. Read full review
83
IndieWireDavid EhrlichFeb 14, 2019
A thoughtful, fast-paced, and immaculately acted procedural that unfolds with the urgency of a newspaper deadline, By the Grace of God zips through the facts of this horrid case, while also shaping them into a lens through which to examine the uneasy relationships between mercy and justice — between faith and the flawed institution that exists to preserve it. Read full review
80
EmpireIan FreerOct 21, 2019
By The Grace Of God lives in the present, a fast-paced, exciting, beautifully played film that matches Spotlight as a searing portrait of modern heroes who stood up. Read full review
80
Film ThreatAlex SavelievOct 20, 2019
Ozon knows his camera placements, musical cues, and, of course, actors, and here he barely steps wrong, pulling us into the narrative, even while dialing back on his usual extravagance. Read full review
80
VarietyGuy LodgeFeb 14, 2019
That the film works as stirringly as it does is largely because of that brash, heart-on-sleeve engagement with its characters’ messy, unfinished feelings, not to mention Ozon’s canny knack for playing on French star personae. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsNov 6, 2019
Ozon’s style as a filmmaker favors smooth technique and easy proficiency, and his resume is full of comedy. That would appear to put him at odds with this material. But his handling of difficult subject matter carries a welcome, borderline-dispassionate restraint and a respect for each character’s value. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy BurrOct 23, 2019
By the Grace of God shows how one man’s evil acts spread into the cracks of not just his victims’ lives but the lives of their loved ones as well. But the film’s gathering crowd also testifies to the sustenance people take when their pain is shared and they pool approaches and resources. Read full review
75
Washington PostMark LiebermanOct 21, 2019
Ozon has said the American drama “Spotlight” inspired his sober, methodical approach. The similarities between the two films are obvious, but there’s a crucial difference: While the 2015 Oscar-winner focused on investigative journalists, By the Grace of God is primarily concerned with the victims. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comOdie HendersonOct 18, 2019
While this is a true story, Ozon goes the fictional movie route, taking a bit of dramatic license while keeping most of the actual details intact. The director impressively juggles the large scope of his script while maintaining the sense of intimacy for his male actors that he normally reserves for his female characters. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternOct 24, 2019
By the Grace of God is overlong, and loses dramatic momentum as the group works out a social-media strategy and debates potential clickbait. But Mr. Ozon’s film is notable for the range of its concerns — the Church’s belief in redemption versus the legal requirement of punishment; the power of forgiveness versus the need for revenge; and before and after everything else, the special pain inflicted on innocent, uncomprehending children. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyFeb 14, 2019
This is a social justice film made with purposeful conviction and a quiet, never strident, sense of indignation. Read full review
70
Screen DailyJonathan RomneyFeb 14, 2019
Superbly acted and highly controlled, the film doesn’t afford easy entertainment, its slow pace and weighty sense of narrative responsibility making for heavy viewing during stretches of its extended running time. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloOct 15, 2019
Mostly, though, this very empathetic project suffers from an inability to offer anything beyond what one would expect from its synopsis. Read full review
60
Little White LiesPhil ConcannonFeb 17, 2023
This is a film about the victims of abuse and, as By the Grace of God makes clear, for many victims this is a story that has no end. Read full review
60
The Observer (UK)Simran HansNov 5, 2019
There’s perhaps an over-reliance on voiceover by way of letters and emails, though the film’s unvarnished formal directness is a good thing, given the sensitive material. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawOct 24, 2019
Ozon has made a decent and valuable film, though it often seems like the drama part of a docudrama: some of the scenes feel like respectful re-enactments that could have gone into a documentary. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleOct 30, 2019
By the Grace of God begins to spin its wheels, with unnecessary scenes that give color to the events, when we’re more interested in the grand movements. Read full review
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