Seymour: An Introduction
Sundance Selects | Release Date: March 13, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
83
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
26
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Washington PostAnn HornadayMar 26, 2015
Seymour: An Introduction gives viewers a soaring, sublime and enduringly meaningful glimpse of a man who is undoubtedly the real thing. Read full review
100
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerMar 13, 2015
I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a movie that better conveys the sheer passion both performer and listener have for great music. Read full review
100
The New York TimesManohla DargisMar 12, 2015
So effective does it close the distance between you and Mr. Bernstein that afterward you may find yourself scanning the streets, hoping to catch sight of him, as if for an old friend. Read full review
100
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternMar 12, 2015
More than a musical offering, it’s a study in boundless passion, plus a wellspring of wisdom about art and life from a man who sees no dividing line between the one and the other. Read full review
91
IndieWireEric KohnFeb 9, 2015
On the whole, by ceding control to his subject, Hawke makes a persuasive case for Bernstein's guru-like outlook on the value of finding personal gratification in art above all else. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyMar 20, 2015
Ethan Hawke's documentary on pianist Seymour Bernstein is very much like the sonatas Bernstein plays so beautifully, teaches so insightfully — quietly moving, infinitely deep. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaMar 27, 2015
The polar opposite of the J.K. Simmons character in "Whiplash." Read full review
88
Boston GlobePeter KeoughMar 26, 2015
Whether or not Hawke got any answers to his questions about the purpose of being artist, seeking them under the guidance of a teacher like Bernstein resulted in this work of art. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesPatrick Z. McGavinMar 20, 2015
The remarkable if unorthodox life and art of the classically trained pianist Seymour Bernstein is explored with acute feeling and quiet tenderness in Ethan Hawke’s terrific biographical portrait, Seymour: An Introduction. Read full review
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerMar 19, 2015
As for Hawke’s own filmmaking skills, it’s hard to find much wrong with this film, itself a meditation on art and the practice of craft. His touch is delicate, and let’s not worry too much if the tone is occasionally fawning. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter TraversMar 12, 2015
The twice Oscar-nominated actor appears onscreen only briefly. Hawke knows where the spotlight belongs. Believe me, the 81 minutes spent in Bernstein's funny, touching and vital presence is something you don't want to miss. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianMarc MohanApr 2, 2015
The octogenarian pianist Seymour Bernstein is the charming, inspirational subject of this appreciative, occasionally fawning documentary. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzMar 26, 2015
This is a man who knows things, and Hawke creates an inspiring platform that allows him to share (at least some of) them. Read full review
80
Time OutDavid EhrlichMar 16, 2015
Seymour unfolds like a Jewish Jiro Dreams of Sushi—Bernstein may look like your average NYC grandpa, but he lives like a monk and talks like a guru. Read full review
80
The DissolveKeith PhippsMar 12, 2015
Alternating interviews, observational passages, and conversations with past students, Hawke’s low-key film never pushes too hard for effect and lets any drama emerge slowly. Read full review
80
Village VoiceStephanie ZacharekMar 10, 2015
The film Hawke has made — which borrows its title, though little else, from J.D. Salinger — works both as a celebration of Bernstein, whose spirit is at once gentle and boldly generous, and as a way of exploring creativity and the meaning it can have in our lives. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinMar 7, 2015
Buoyed by Chopin, Schubert, Schumann, and more, Seymour: An Introduction is lyrical without getting fancy, its director plainly rapt. Read full review
80
VarietyJustin ChangFeb 9, 2015
This first documentary directed by Ethan Hawke happily sidesteps any vanity-project pitfalls, granting full expression to Bernstein’s wise and witty commentary on a craft that he’s spent decades honing — as well as the proper application of that craft when the demands of art are often outweighed by the pressures of commerce. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsApr 9, 2015
The movie is more of a character study than a biography, as Bernstein dispenses his gentle wit and wisdom for the camera and for an elite class of student. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyMar 13, 2015
Throughout the picture, Bernstein interacts with genteel folk who quietly deplore what they see as the American perception of art and art-making. Read full review
75
New York PostKyle SmithMar 12, 2015
Yet the film is marred by Hawke’s blundering intrusions as he keeps changing the subject to Hawke: He tells us he often wonders “why it is I do what I do,” as if anyone but he is interested in the answer. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloMar 11, 2015
The biggest problem with Seymour, though, is that Hawke can’t quite find a structure or rhythm for the movie as a whole. It’s only 81 minutes long, and never remotely boring, but the feeling that it’s due to end at any moment kicks in around the midpoint and persists right up until it actually does end, like the documentary equivalent of "The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King." Read full review
75
Slant MagazineCarson LundMar 9, 2015
Ethan Hawke's concentration on Seymour Bernstein isn't a betrayal of his own ego massaging, but rather an attempt to have a genuine soul-bearing conversation. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterStephen FarberFeb 9, 2015
Hawke’s film is very well crafted, tightly edited and elegantly photographed. The acute musical selections only add to our appreciation of Seymour’s selfless devotion to his art. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenMar 25, 2015
So many follow-up questions are left unasked. The film is at its liveliest when the filmmaker and his subject discuss the twofold presence of human monstrosity and artistic gifts or the human propensity to value talent over craft. Read full review
65
TheWrapInkoo KangMar 11, 2015
Hawke is probably too respectful a director and disciple to challenge anything that his subject says, or even query about the vaguest outlines of his personal life.... The title is truth in advertising; “Seymour” really is only an introduction. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierMar 12, 2015
Intimate and intellectual, the film — with a title taken from J.D. Salinger — focuses on the type of person you pass on the street, see in a coffee shop or sit next to on the subway who makes you wonder what life he’s led. One full of melody and muse, it turns out. Read full review
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