Ivory Tower
| Release Date: June 13, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
65
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
The A.V. ClubDavid EhrlichJun 12, 2014
Rossi’s scathing (yet seemingly fair) documentary doesn’t just illustrate the institutional ironies of modern education. It also strives to understand why tuition is at an all-time high when knowledge is practically free. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyJun 12, 2014
Endlessly stimulating and provoking, Ivory Tower presents a solid overview of an urgent problem that some claim is about to implode and others believe can be worked through with the intelligent application of fresh ideas. Read full review
80
Time OutJoshua RothkopfJun 12, 2014
You feel for the potential Wesleyan parent who asks an administrator if his daughter is going to have to move home after graduating: His question is met with an uneasy pause. Crucial stuff. Read full review
75
Washington PostStephanie MerryJun 19, 2014
Ivory Tower covers a lot of ground, and sometimes the focus feels diffuse. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleLeba HertzJun 19, 2014
Most interesting, to me, is what happened at New York City's Cooper Union, which has charged no tuition since its founding in 1859. Due in part to mismanagement of funds, the school has announced it will start charging tuition, prompting the students to form their own Occupy Movement. This alone deserves a 90-minute documentary. Read full review
75
The PlaylistKimber MyersJun 16, 2014
Ivory Tower is compelling viewing, particularly if you feel close to the crisis. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerJun 13, 2014
Rossi investigates the increasing use of massive open online courses and other flexible programs and talks to such education experts as Columbia professor Andrew Delbanco. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzJul 11, 2014
It's wider than it is deep, but Andrew Rossi's documentary is a good primer on an issue that, in varying degrees, affects almost everyone. Read full review
70
VarietyJustin ChangJun 16, 2014
Although stronger on breadth than focus, it’s an appropriately stimulating take on a far-from-sustainable system. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranJun 12, 2014
This film throws an enormous amount of information at us both in terms of original interviews and archival footage from more than 100 sources, but it's too sophisticated to suggest that any one-size-fits-all solution is lurking just over the horizon. Read full review
63
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsJun 26, 2014
Chartered to provide both sides of every debate, CNN has positioned itself as the middle ground for discussions of current events. But without a knowledgeable teacher (or filmmaker) to lead such discussions into new territory, they devolve into noisy bull sessions. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy BurrJun 19, 2014
Rossi gives us a survey course when what we need is a seminar; the movie is a useful “What’s Wrong With College 101” but the advanced study remains to be done. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoJun 13, 2014
There’s enough interesting, raw material in Ivory Tower to consider but one wishes it was shaped into something more cohesive and pointed in its attack and approach. Read full review
63
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreJun 10, 2014
Andrew Rossi’s documentary is a bit scatter shot in its approach. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineNick McCarthyJun 10, 2014
The documentary is more interested in covering all its bases than making sure it fully has its foot on each base. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierJun 12, 2014
This insightful doc from director Andrew Rossi addresses topics that get more polarizing each year: the high cost of college, the factors that dictate who’s educated in this country and the culture that surrounds those decisions. Read full review
60
Village VoiceDaphne HowlandJun 10, 2014
What the film does accomplish is making you think, especially about how universities are spending their ever-increasing tuition on top-notch campus amenities and their own disastrous loans, and how state governments and federal agencies are similarly passing off their education cuts onto the young people who they expect to one day run the economy and society. Read full review
50
The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerJun 12, 2014
Ivory Tower, a documentary about soaring costs and other problems confronting higher education, can’t seem to decide what points it wants to make and ends up making none. Read full review
50
The DissolveNathan RabinJun 12, 2014
Ivory Tower asks a lot of provocative, important questions, but it’s decidedly short on answers, and even shorter on satisfying or convincing answers. Read full review
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