Mapplethorpe
Samuel Goldwyn Films | Release Date: March 1, 2019 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
44
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
7
Negative:
7
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
TheWrapDan CallahanApr 27, 2018
Even if budgetary restraints sometimes keep Timoner from fully capturing the time she is re-creating, nothing holds Smith back from making Mapplethorpe come alive again, in every sense. Read full review
58
The Film StageJohn FinkMay 2, 2018
Fronted by a fine performance by Matt Smith, Mapplethorpe plays it safe with a subject that’s anything but. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreMar 30, 2021
The film is a choppy series of sketches and snapshots that don’t really take us inside the man’s head. [2021 Director's Cut] Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinMar 1, 2019
Mapplethorpe doesn’t linger long enough to have a present tense. It hits its marks and breezes on. It’s not inept — there are few bad scenes. It doesn’t risk enough to be bad. Read full review
40
Rolling StonePeter TraversFeb 27, 2019
What’s missing are the moments in between that actually make up a life and give it emotional resonance. Read full review
40
VarietyPeter DebrugeApr 27, 2018
To rob Mapplethorpe of his controversy is to strip the movie of its dramatic conflict. By doing so, the script (co-written with Mikko Alanne) reduces to a rather banal biopic, reenacting how a scrappy outsider achieved unconventional success. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterKeith UhlichApr 27, 2018
This is, in abstract, a bold and brilliant performance, an act of possession, really, and Smith never personally steps wrong in the film’s 96 minutes. But his work, sadly, is continuously undermined by everything surrounding him, beginning with a script, written by Timoner and Mikko Alanne, that frustratingly sticks to the then-this-happened conventions of a standard biopic. Read full review
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