Red Hook Summer
Variance Films | Release Date: August 10, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
48
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
14
Negative:
4
Watch Now
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Time OutJoshua RothkopfAug 7, 2012
The new drama, best viewed as a church movie, is a return to the kind of corner-chat indie cinema Lee revolutionized, with an emphasis on a towering performance by The Wire's Clarke Peters as a local bishop inflamed with the Word. Read full review
80
Boxoffice MagazineRay GreeneJul 20, 2012
Red Hook Summer begins as a gentle character comedy and then erupts into a sudden reversal that is possibly the most powerful and disturbing sequence Lee has ever created. It's a film that makes you laugh, weep, rage and gasp, and, love it or hate it, you will definitely talk about it afterward. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineGlenn Heath Jr.Aug 6, 2012
The seamless juxtaposition of faith and pain, innocence and guilt, allows the film to transcend Spike Lee's occasional bombastic moments and become a strong examination of internal suffering. Read full review
75
The PlaylistTodd GilchristJul 28, 2012
Ultimately, Lee's clarity of vision hasn't been this sharp or unique since before "Crooklyn," and it's thrilling with Red Hook Summer to witness a return to the technique – and most of all, emotional wallop – that even today continues to give his films an enduring life as both entertainment, and enlightenment. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriAug 10, 2012
This is a film made by a wiser man who recognizes that everybody's looking for salvation in their own way. In the end, as the camera revisits the cast of broken, fallen characters, we may realize that Red Hook, as far as Spike Lee is concerned, is a state of mind. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsAug 23, 2012
It's a scramble, marked by the unruly variety of visual strategies Lee prefers. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertAug 22, 2012
Here is Lee at his most spontaneous and sincere, but he could have used another screenplay draft, and perhaps a few more transitional scenes. Read full review
More From This Movie

48 Critic Reviews

4.5 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 71 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL