Minamata
Samuel Goldwyn Films | Release Date: February 11, 2022 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
55
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
8
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
78
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerFeb 10, 2022
In its dour and often depressing depiction of environmental struggle, 1970s-set true-life pollution drama Minimata would pair well with Todd Haynes’ Dark Waters. Read full review
75
The Film StageJared MobarakApr 6, 2022
Minamata isn’t without its flaws, but a solid tale of art as power and citizens as heroes emerges. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesNoel MurrayFeb 10, 2022
Like Smith’s pictures, this movie is direct, compelling and hard to dismiss. Read full review
70
TheWrapKatieFeb 10, 2022
As a film, Minamata is more than just a biopic, reflecting the important social impact of photography, although — as a slideshow of images from pollution disasters, oil spills, toxic waste poisoning and more are shown over the credits — one has to wonder what true change has been made. Read full review
70
VarietyPeter DebrugeFeb 28, 2020
Depp plays it surly throughout, dominating those around him, but Minami has a strong screen presence as well (despite struggling somewhat with the dialogue in her first English-language role). As Aileen, she needs only to look at Gene, and he will yield to her demands. The two characters read as equals here, despite their polar-opposite personalities, and that unusual chemistry fuels the dangerous reporting ahead of them. Read full review
67
The PlaylistJessica KiangFeb 28, 2020
Levitas’ unusually even-handed approach works to balance the film’s inspirational true story with its tragic real-world context, by refusing to overstate Smith’s personal heroics, while sensitively outlining the everyday heroism of the ordinary men and women most grievously affected. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreFeb 14, 2022
Minamata doesn’t have the punch or paranoia of “Silkwood.” But I’d say Levitas, Depp & Co. have delivered a “message movie” with as much pathos and righteousness as the pollution lawsuit drama “Dark Waters.” And at least this one isn’t about a heroic lawyer. Read full review
63
Washington PostPat PaduaFeb 7, 2022
Despite its poignant subject matter, much of the film feels like a pastiche of political thriller, romantic drama and tortured-genius cliches. Read full review
60
Film ThreatAlex SavelievFeb 15, 2022
Coupled with a few inspired moments and an earnestness that’s hard to dismiss, the film manages, just barely, to stand out from the rest. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawFeb 28, 2020
Minamata is a forthright, heartfelt movie, an old-fashioned “issue picture” with a worthwhile story to tell about how communities can stand up to overweening corporations and how journalists dedicated to truthful news can help them. Read full review
50
Original-CinLiam LaceyApr 4, 2022
The trouble starts with the script, which wobbles between an investigative thriller and a psychological study. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoFeb 11, 2022
Leading man Johnny Depp is up to the challenge, and he gives a finely tuned performance here that kind of feels like his first "old man" turn, and he’s matched by a charming piece of work from Minami, but Minamata is weighed down by self-important direction that loses the human beings in this story by prioritizing the headlines. Read full review
50
Screen DailyJonathan RomneyFeb 28, 2020
Altogether solemn in tone, the film is undeniably handsome, with DoP Benoît Delhomme steeping the Japanese landscape in melancholy atmospherics, but Minimata tends to over-aestheticise its material, not least in the too-elegant recreations of Smith’s black and white imagery. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterDeborah YoungFeb 28, 2020
Director Andrew Levitas and his co-screenwriters dramatize a riveting story using a mass of groan-worthy genre clichés that ill-serve the truth they are trying to recreate. Read full review
42
IndieWireEric KohnFeb 28, 2020
Here and there, Minamata tells a bracing story of corporate malfeasance and bracing advocacy for the underclass, but even the occasional poignant observation can’t salvage a movie trying this hard to tug every heartstring at its disposal. Read full review
40
The TelegraphTim RobeyFeb 28, 2020
The film isn’t a write-off – well-handled, it could have had the sober dramatic voltage of Todd Haynes’s Dark Waters, which relates a now-familiar story of corporate malfeasance in a different place and time. The problems are of style, focus and intent. Read full review
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