Native Son
A24 | Release Date (Streaming): April 6, 2019 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
63
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 12 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
The Film StageJake HowellFeb 2, 2019
It may have moments where it feels unwieldy—like a runaway train gone off its tracks—but it never flags for one second. A movie this bold doesn’t dare lose momentum. Read full review
90
TheWrapCarlos AguilarFeb 2, 2019
A gut-punch of a debut that examines race relations in America with unabashed force, Johnson’s present-day interpretation proves, disgracefully, how pertinent Wright’s text remains. Read full review
80
The GuardianBenjamin LeeFeb 2, 2019
It’s a fiery, flawed, often stunningly made film that provokes uncomfortable discussion, rather like the Richard Wright novel it was based on, although purists might argue over some key changes. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperApr 5, 2019
Thanks in great part to the staying power of the source material, and the blistering work by Ashton Sanders and KiKi Layne, Native Son leaves a lasting imprint. Read full review
70
Screen DailyTim GriersonFeb 2, 2019
While this slow-motion tragedy sometimes risks more than it can deliver, the film’s cumulative effect stuns nonetheless. Ashton Sanders heads a fine cast that forcibly articulates the everyday landmines African-Americans have to navigate in a white society that often seems intent on destroying them. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriFeb 2, 2019
Ultimately, this is Sanders’s show. His performance breathes new life into one of American literature’s most heartbreaking and controversial characters. Read full review
67
The PlaylistGregory EllwoodFeb 2, 2019
For every scene that doesn’t work there is another that’s spellbinding. It’s gutsy and provocative and, frankly, that’s a compliment you can’t give many independent films these days. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Feb 2, 2019
The early stretch of the movie is its strongest, as Johnson lays out the bric-a-brac of Bigger’s life, which involves a good deal of code-switching, and carefully tweaks the novel’s key relationships, updating the condescension of his employer’s rich-kid daughter, Mary (Margaret Qualley), to a new era of white guilt and microaggressions. Read full review
60
UproxxMike RyanFeb 2, 2019
Sanders plays Bigger Thomas in such a unique, interesting way that I couldn’t help but be enthralled by his life. Unfortunately, the plot points in Wright’s novel, of all things, betray him. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comMonica CastilloApr 5, 2019
Screen adaptations of well-known books are a tricky art. Stray too far from the source material, and purists will be upset. Stick too close to the text, and you risk alienating others. Native Son sits somewhere in-between paint-by-number loyalty and artistic interpretation. Read full review
50
VarietyOwen GleibermanFeb 2, 2019
Native Son, after its promising first half, leaves you dispirited, because it’s a movie where hope gets snuffed by a stacked deck. Read full review
50
VoxAlissa WilkinsonFeb 2, 2019
Though it has some problems as a film — some of which are part and parcel of translating a book to the screen — Native Son still packs a punch, one that connects directly with the gut. Read full review
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