I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
Plexifilm | Release Date: July 26, 2002 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
66
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
6
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
A superb portrait of a band and an industry in flux. Read full review
90
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
In the last two decades rock documentaries have become ubiquitous on TV but marginalized as cinema; this is the rare exception that earns its place on the big screen. Read full review
88
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
This picture is jagged and exciting; it tells several plots imperfectly, yet makes them add up to a great American story about integrity challenged and triumphant. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerDan DeLuca
Tells Wilco's story so well that you'll leave the theater thinking the album is a work of genius. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
An exciting and involving rock music doc, a smart and satisfying look inside that tumultuous world. Read full review
80
The New York TimesDave Kehr
A photographer for magazines like Vanity Fair and GQ, as well as a veteran director of commercials, Mr. Jones brings a trained eye to this, his first documentary. The low gray skies of Chicago prove once again to be a boon to photography, and the city has seldom looked better than it does here, in its chilly, minimalist beauty. Read full review
80
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
It testifies to art's vitality and endurance, despite its marketers' -- and sometimes even its makers' -- efforts to the contrary. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
Much to cheer here, from its treasure trove of early and alternate versions of songs to the triumphant finale.
75
Chicago TribuneRobert K. Elder
This is a rare gem tripped over while making a run-of-the-mill rockumentary about a band's new album. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
A modest vérité portrait of Wilco, the engagingly melodious, deeply unglam alt-folk rockers. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerBill White
The film perpetuates a self-congratulatory vision of the record's worth, when an opposing point of view would have provided a more balanced perspective. Read full review
70
Film ThreatTim Merrill
In 30 years’ time it might seem as incisive a document of its time as, say, “Don’t Look Back” or “Gimme Shelter.” As a study of how the current corporate idiocy impacts one man’s art, it’s priceless. Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not credited)
Shot in grainy black and white, the film features tons of entertaining footage of the band in the studio as well as an enlightening commentary from music critics Greg Kot and David Frick. Read full review
70
Washington PostRichard Harrington
The unexpected drama captured puts I Am Trying to Break Your Heart in the good company, if not quite the league, of "Let It Be" and "Gimme Shelter." Read full review
63
New York PostMegan Lehmann
The concert footage is stirring, the recording sessions are intriguing, and -- on the way to striking a blow for artistic integrity -- this quality band may pick up new admirers. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
May be anticorporate, it's by no means hype-free. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
This is compelling stuff, but Jones seems almost pathologically averse to upstaging the songs themselves. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
To love Wilco is to believe in a certain rustic intelligence about popular music (and about yourself) and to embrace the Tweedy worldview that you need sarcasm and vagueness to cope with the pitfalls of sincerity. Read full review
50
New Times (L.A.)Gregory Weinkauf
what we've got here is a little propaganda film. A mild one, certainly, but the cliché of DIY hopefuls (band) versus the Big Machine (music industry) foments the same tedious struggle of art versus commerce. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
A slightly dull film by photographer Sam Jones. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleJames Sullivan
Business intrudes on art. Read full review
40
Village VoiceJessica Winter
Jones's documentary, named for the opening song on Foxtrot, is most effective as a poison-pen missive to Corporate Rock. Read full review
40
L.A. WeeklyJohn Patterson
As Tweedy talks about canning his stockbroker and repairing his pool, you yearn for a few airborne TV sets or nude groupies on the nod to liven things up. And what do we get? Diet Coke! Tonight is definitely not the night. Read full review
40
VarietyRobert Koehler
May leave itself open to charges of being little more than a promo feature posing as a documentary, but pic nevertheless is a warts-and-all look at a group of musicians -- and the music biz -- likely to make most record label flacks flinch. Read full review
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