Imelda
Release Date: June 9, 2004 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
69
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
16
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
New York PostV.A. Musetto
Throughout, Mrs. Marcos comes across as an elitist, insulated against real life by wealth and power -- yet one who truly believes she is misunderstood and has done nothing wrong. Read full review
88
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
Remarkable documentary. Read full review
80
Film ThreatPete Vonder Haar
Eminently successful at portraying the former first lady's flaws because it allows her to describe them herself. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesCarina Chocano
Diaz has said that she hopes the film asks the right questions. But it seems, in this case, that the questions are leading - and rightly so. Marcos is given all the tape she needs to hang herself. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneAllison Benedikt
When a filmmaker can get Imelda Marcos, once one of the 10 richest women in the world, to pull out a Sharpie and draw a Pac-Man, she's alright by me. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
Fascinating and impressively balanced documentary. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
She emerges as an energetic, narcissistic, and totally self-deluded woman. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Imelda is at its most acridly useful when comparing the former first lady's recollections with others' less sanguine memories. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJames Greenberg
Captures a complex and contradictory world figure. Imelda is by turns humorous, insightful and infuriating. Read full review
70
The New York TimesStephen Holden
As a personality study Imelda is a devastating portrait of how power begets self-delusion. It must be said, however, that through it all Mrs. Marcos exudes considerable charm and even a flickering sense of humor. Read full review
70
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
For the fascinating character study Imelda, Ramona S. Diaz was given a month's access to the former first lady, who supplies so many bizarre equivocations that it's hard to tell whether her actions were malicious or merely delusional. Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
When she's not babbling about the weird symbological system that rules her personal cosmos Imelda is an entertaining storyteller, vividly describing a life that became a national embarrassment and a camp legend. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Engrossing documentary. Read full review
70
Washington PostDesson Thomson
But even though Marcos, in this film, provides enough material for a few hundred giggles and head-shakings, she also shows a pathetically human side. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyJon Strickland
Diaz leaves us unsure about whether we should pity or revile Imelda, a woman alternately charmingly childlike, shockingly remote and, ultimately, as she stands over the waxed corpse of her husband, pathetic. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
There's no question she's a smart cookie, but as she herself says, "There's a thin line between smart and crazy." Read full review
60
VarietyTodd McCarthy
A balanced, evenhanded film about a subject who has always managed to provoke intemperate reactions. Read full review
50
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
Entertaining as it is, Imelda seems all too willing to take her at her word. Read full review
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