Separated
Submarine Deluxe | Release Date: October 4, 2024 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
75
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 13 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
VarietyPeter DebrugeOct 10, 2024
You can feel the tension as Morris untangles the trail of responsibility, drawing a thin, clear line through a real-world conspiracy that resulted in more than 4,000 kids — some no more than infants — being whisked away to facilities far removed from their parents. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzDec 6, 2024
The movie feels less like a prosecutorial document than an autopsy of a government's conscience, pinpointing the time of death. Read full review
83
IndieWireChristian BlauveltSep 17, 2024
Watching Errol Morris‘s urgent reminder of a documentary — possibly the most enraging film yet made by a director who’s certainly known how to illuminate infuriating topics over the past 45 years — will raise your blood pressure considerably. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleOct 18, 2024
One wishes that space in Separated had been saved instead for real stories told by the policy’s victims, or perhaps more historical context. Nonetheless, what we glean from the totality of the interviews and research, and Morris’ well-honed style of coalescing information, is damning enough. Read full review
80
Time OutPhil de SemlyenSep 17, 2024
It’s a story of dehumanisation, children in cages, and the blurting, vote-craving policy-making of government by id – and it’s shattering to experience. Read full review
80
The GuardianXan BrooksSep 17, 2024
The material is sobering and the mountain of evidence needs unpicking. The film-maker handles his brief with the cold, hard precision of an expert state prosecutor. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleBob StraussNov 20, 2024
Despite any weaknesses, the movie still does what Morris does best. It digs deep into the details of how some terrible idea was mismanaged in execution. Read full review
75
The Daily BeastBarry LevittSep 17, 2024
There’s something damning that comes through watching Separated—the idea that things happened and were allowed to happen because of ambition. To advance in their careers, people were willing to enact laws that would cause unspeakable and irreversible harm. Read full review
70
The New York TimesBen KenigsbergOct 10, 2024
If Separated is likely too straightforward — too much of a conventional issue documentary — to be remembered as one of Morris’s richest films, it is not as if the director has abandoned his sense of profound absurdity. Read full review
70
Screen DailyTim GriersonSep 17, 2024
While Morris’s attempt to personalise this humanitarian crisis by casting actors to play a mother and son crossing the border proves less than effective, Separated’s criticism of America’s dismissive attitude towards immigrants is sufficiently scathing. Read full review
67
The PlaylistChristian GallichioSep 17, 2024
Morris is at the stage of his career where everything he makes is both polished and interesting. But, in recent years, he’s oscillated between sweeping institutional exposés and zoomed-in portraits of characters. If anything, Separated again demonstrates that he’s at his best with the latter, as the documentary’s interests stretch far beyond its grasp. Read full review
65
TheWrapSteve PondSep 17, 2024
The subject matter is already horrifying; we hardly need to see its fictional illustration staged for maximum impact and set to insistent and foreboding music. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterDaniel FienbergSep 17, 2024
On an intellectual and reporting level, Separated is sturdy and persuasive. Morris is angry, and if you’re watching this movie, chances are good that after 90ish minutes, you’ll be angry, too. What Separated needs, though, is a little touch of the old Errol Morris. Read full review
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