David Lynch: The Art Life
Absurda | Release Date: March 31, 2017 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
75
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
16
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
CineVueTom DugginsJul 13, 2017
This is a compelling and rich documentary that captivates and inspires in a similar fashion to some of his best work behind the camera. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comChristina NewlandMar 31, 2017
This cockeyed, oblique attempt to get closer to the worldview of David Lynch — one of American cinema’s finest oddities — is a compelling slice of cinephile inquiry. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubSean O'NealMar 29, 2017
Where The Art Life proves most informative to longtime Lynch fans is in its closely observed depiction of his creative process, glimpsed here as he putters around his home studio in the Hollywood Hills, his adorable toddler daughter in tow, creating paintings, sculptures, music, or whatever else strikes his fancy. Read full review
83
The Film StageEd FranklMar 27, 2017
There’s much to interest the Lynch fan here, but it also might be an unparalleled assessment of the artistic learning of a great American filmmaker. Read full review
80
EmpireAndrew LowryJul 17, 2017
Crucial for serious fans of Lynch, even if it may baffle newcomers. Since pretty much the only thing more interesting to lovers of his work is the enigmatic man behind it, there’s a lot for them to get their teeth into here. Read full review
80
The TelegraphTim RobeyJul 13, 2017
The Art Life shows us a lot about Lynch’s process, just in a different medium from the one that made him famous. His paintings are terrifying. One day, he just had the sudden urge to watch them move. Read full review
80
Time Out LondonTom HuddlestonMar 27, 2017
This intimate documentary about the leftfield American filmmaker David Lynch is insightful and absorbing. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterDeborah YoungMar 27, 2017
David Lynch, The Art Life will entrance the director’s fans and, who knows, inspire budding, out-of-the-box creators in an artistic coming-of-age tale, told in his own words and deliberate tones. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleWalter AddiegoApr 27, 2017
For some viewers, it will be more than they want to know, but for Lynch’s many partisans, it’s required watching. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzApr 6, 2017
Unlike Brian De Palma, Lynch is not a natural conversationalist, so the result is a stiched-together narrative that is as curious and occasionally frustrating as the man himself. Read full review
75
The PlaylistChris EvangelistaMar 27, 2017
The Art Life is more concerned with the art rather than the life of Lynch, and this is the only true weakness of the doc. While informative to a certain degree, there’s always a sense that something is missing here. That there’s more to Lynch than the film cares to explore. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineChuck BowenMar 26, 2017
Throughout the documentary, the undisguised regret and longing of David Lynch's reminiscences are often startling. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinApr 14, 2017
Lynch devotees should dig this respectful, offbeat portrait. Read full review
70
The New York TimesBen KenigsbergMar 30, 2017
Mostly, the documentary is a fond portrait of how one man nurtured his artistic temperament and risked being misunderstood — sometimes by his own family. Read full review
70
VarietyGuy LodgeMar 27, 2017
Nominally focused on the celebrated filmmaker’s lesser-known dabblings in fine art, The Art Life emerges as a more expansive study of Lynch’s creative impulses and preoccupations, as he relates first-hand the formative experiences that spurred and shaped a most unusual imagination. Read full review
70
Screen DailyFionnuala HalliganMar 27, 2017
Jon Nguyen’s carefully-calibrated ode to Lynch is in itself Lynchian, an essential picture for the director’s legion of fans. Read full review
60
Total FilmJames MottramJul 13, 2017
An intriguing insight into Lynch’s genius, intimately crafted and leaving you wanting more. Read full review
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