Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché
Modern Films | Release Date (Streaming): February 2, 2022 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
82
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 9 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
ConsequenceRachel ReevesMar 22, 2021
In a genre often saturated with sugar-coated stories and selective memories, Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché proves to be anything but. Read full review
90
The New York TimesLisa KennedyFeb 3, 2022
More than a journeyman rockumentary, “Poly Styrene” is a thoughtfully finessed filial reckoning: a daughter’s journey toward understanding her mother as a young artist and as a young woman of color. Read full review
83
Original-CinJennie PunterFeb 4, 2022
The film adds an authentic emotional resonance to an important story about an exceptional human who was singing her mind at a pivotal moment in 20th-century pop-culture history. Read full review
80
Screen DailyWendy IdeMar 22, 2021
As the story progresses, Bell’s decision to share the focus and to examine her relationship with her mother makes more sense, bringing an intimacy and tenderness to the rock documentary format. Read full review
80
CineVueMatthew AndersonMar 22, 2021
An affectionate labour of love, cathartic yet bitterly honest, Bell and Sng’s films paints the full, unfettered picture. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawMar 22, 2021
[A] riveting and valuable documentary. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleTim StegallJan 26, 2022
Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché is the daughter cinematically coming to terms with their complicated relationship and with a figure who changed our culture. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreFeb 3, 2022
Bell, appearing on camera but speaking in voice-over like everybody else, makes the celebration fun and the tragedy bittersweet in this fine tribute to the mother she only got to know and appreciate “too late” to gain the full benefits of being raised by an icon. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyFeb 2, 2022
This restless film is hardly content to present a portrait of an icon, instead insisting, with compassion and clear eyes, that icons are all too human too. Read full review
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