Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia
IFC Films | Release Date: May 23, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
72
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
The New York TimesStephen HoldenMay 22, 2014
Heavily seasoned with epigrams worthy of Oscar Wilde, this entertaining documentary portrays Vidal as a pessimistic political prophet with streaks of paranoia and misanthropy, but a truth teller nonetheless. Read full review
90
Village VoiceErnest HardyMay 20, 2014
It's an admittedly hagiographic film, an unabashed celebration of the man and his work and worldview. The few mild naysayers are largely set up to be knocked down, but as such the film is invigorating. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckMay 12, 2014
This superb documentary captures Gore Vidal in all his ever-articulate glory. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleJun 5, 2014
Ever mindful of the line he straddled between thinker and flamethrower, this "Gore Vidal" is nevertheless a lovingly packaged greatest hits from a legendary rebel of letters. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy BurrJun 26, 2014
It has been said before but it’s worth saying again: Gore Vidal was born to the toga, even if he never actually wore one. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJun 12, 2014
We encounter a man of great talent and usefulness, and yet someone most of us can be glad never to have met. Read full review
75
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreMay 28, 2014
It’s almost a hagiography, and Vidal would have demanded no less. Read full review
75
New York PostKyle SmithMay 21, 2014
The film, like the man, is never boring. Read full review
70
VarietyDennis HarveyMay 12, 2014
The grounding material here is with the elderly Vidal himself... Unfailingly witty and devastatingly insightful, he personifies that near-extinct species — the public intellectual. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineWes GreeneMay 19, 2014
The unbalanced appraisal of Vidal's life and work in Nicholas Wrathall's documentary diminishes the effect of the writer's engaging dissension of American political policy. Read full review
60
Time OutKeith UhlichMay 21, 2014
Nicholas Wrathall’s documentary—rough-edged in style, yet anchored by pointed and poignant interviews with the man himself — is mostly for those already fascinated by Vidal’s colorful life. Read full review
60
Time Out LondonTom HuddlestonMay 12, 2014
The film’s blanket refusal to question its subject feels not only cowardly, but antithetical. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanJun 5, 2014
It does exactly what its subject didn’t do: toe the line. Read full review
50
The DissolveVadim RizovMay 20, 2014
With its autumnal, end-of-days feeling, Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia ends up serving as a capably assembled but deeply felt obituary for both its title subject and the late Hitchens. Read full review
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