Dark Money
PBS | Release Date: July 13, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
72
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
16
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattJul 19, 2018
Kimberly Reed’s taut documentary is also damning, clear-eyed, and as gripping as any John Grisham thriller. Read full review
83
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerJul 27, 2018
Dark Money should set off warning bells for even those who believe that the Citizens United decision, equating corporations with people and money with speech, was a First Amendment victory for free speech. Read full review
83
The Film StageDan MeccaJul 11, 2018
Fast and furious in its information and interviews, this documentary is engaging from minute one, rarely letting the viewer off the hook. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzAug 9, 2018
Dark Money exposes the dangers of unbridled, anonymous political spending so expertly that it will make you fume with anger, practically quake with distress. Which is exactly why you need to see it. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranJul 26, 2018
No one has to see a documentary to understand that large sums of untraceable political campaign contributions are a bad thing. But Dark Money does need to be seen because it reveals with fascinating specificity how that crooked system works and details how one state decided to take it on. Read full review
80
VarietyDennis HarveyJul 11, 2018
In contrast to the very personal “Prodigal Sons,” Reed’s sophomore feature is straightforward reportage, telling a complex, multi-issue story with a large number of players, in admirably cogent terms. Read full review
75
Boston GlobePeter KeoughAug 3, 2018
Reed follows the proceedings as they happen and builds the suspense of a top-notch courtroom drama. Read full review
75
TheWrapRobert AbeleJul 26, 2018
Activist in tone, and paced like a thriller, Reed’s movie painstakingly details how an election can be brusquely seized and swayed by unseen forces. Candidates need do little but sign on to be successfully co-opted. Read full review
75
Philadelphia Daily NewsGary ThompsonJul 18, 2018
[An] informative documentary. Read full review
75
Film Journal InternationalChris BarsantiJul 12, 2018
The story of the 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court decision, which opened the spigots of campaign cash, has been told before. But Reed weaves it into a larger narrative in which it is simply one of the steps in the unraveling of modern campaign-finance laws. Read full review
70
Film ThreatAlan NgAug 30, 2018
Dark Money does succeed in presenting a strong case for campaign finance reform. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyJul 11, 2018
A densely packed documentary that earnestly and obsessively addresses campaign finance reform, its history and vital importance. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenAug 1, 2018
The film’s basic problem is that it jumps around too much, with an array of speakers from Montana to Washington, D.C. to California. Read full review
63
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanJul 17, 2018
As Ravel puts it, the disproportionate influence of money on elections isn’t a Democratic or Republican problem, but a “gateway issue to every other issue you might care about.” Dark Money makes the case, as well as any film can, that she’s pretty much right on the money. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyJul 13, 2018
This is an informative film that deals up its facts in a sober, linear fashion. This is salutary in that it avoids sensationalism that might lead to accusations of conspiracy-theory mongering. But it also has the effect of making the film feel a little dry. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineKeith WatsonJul 9, 2018
Kimberly Reed's approach is too bloodless to make us feel the full weight of the injustices her film identifies. Read full review
60
The New York TimesManohla DargisJul 12, 2018
Ms. Reed has taken on a vital story in Dark Money, which is why it’s frustrating that her storytelling isn’t better. Some introductory text or explanatory narration would have better helped historically ground viewers, who need to juggle a lot of information. Read full review
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