Herman's House
First Run Features | Release Date: April 19, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
73
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 9 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
Watch Now
Stream On
Buy on

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
New York PostFarran Smith NehmeApr 18, 2013
Bhalla’s advocacy gets its force above all from the oddly similar personalities of the two main subjects — Wallace and Sumell — zealous reformers possessed of astonishing optimism, even as Bhalla closes by noting that there are 80,000 prisoners in solitary in the US. Read full review
80
The New York TimesStephen HoldenApr 18, 2013
Although this documentary has a powerful political subtext, it is best described as a conceptual art piece about confinement, attached to a dual biography of the artist and the prisoner. Read full review
80
Village VoiceZachary WigonApr 16, 2013
Herman's House coasts on the strength of its portrait of two systemic outsiders. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Adam NaymanApr 16, 2013
Herman's House is conventionally produced, but it does right by its two uncommon subjects. Read full review
70
VarietyJohn AndersonApr 16, 2013
A portrait of an invisible man, Herman's House is a raised voice in the constitutional debate over solitary confinement. Read full review
65
NPRMark JenkinsApr 18, 2013
Herman's House would benefit from more background material on Wallace, notably about the alleged weakness of the murder rap against him. In the end, though, neither Sumell nor the film is concerned with that. Their goal is to make palpable — and palpably horrific — the fact of living 23 hours a day in caged isolation. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineKalvin HenelyApr 16, 2013
An involving documentary that doesn't offer a convincing argument against solitary confinement for those who may not fully realize what's objectionable about it. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckApr 18, 2013
Although it sketchily touches on many provocative issues -- the inhumanity of this form of incarceration, the relationship between the artist and subject -- Herman’s House fails to explore them in a fully satisfying manner. Read full review
60
Time OutJenna SchererApr 16, 2013
It’s an absorbing, prickly tale, which Bhalla doesn’t tell as coherently as he could have — oddly fitting, considering this is a story about frustrated ambitions and unfulfilled potential. Read full review
More From This Movie

73 Critic Reviews

tbd User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL