The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman's Portrait Photography
Neon | Release Date: June 30, 2017 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
77
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleJun 29, 2017
This is the rare Morris movie that feels led by the personality of its star figure, in this case Dorfman’s wry positivity and love of what she does, rather than his need to probe. Read full review
90
VarietyAndrew BarkerApr 24, 2017
This portrait of the artist as an old woman is a gentle-hearted gem, as profoundly subtle as it is subtly profound. Read full review
80
The New York TimesGlenn KennyJun 29, 2017
Ms. Dorfman emerges as an artist of deep compassion, empathy, humor and wisdom. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternJun 29, 2017
Ms. Dorfman, bless her open heart, has been captivated by the surfaces of the people she shoots, of how they seem. “I am totally not interested in capturing their souls.” Read full review
80
Paste MagazineTim GriersonJun 26, 2017
It would be inaccurate to say The B-Side only scratches the surface of Dorfman, but this lovely portrait takes pains to adopt her mindset, finding the beauty that pervades an artist’s life. As a result, Morris is offering his own kind B-side—not better than the main work, but a delightful alternative take. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterStephen FarberMay 31, 2017
Dorfman declares that she was never a media or critics’ darling. “I was at the bottom of the list,” she says when talking about her position in the ranks of modern photography. This film will convince you that she definitely deserves a higher position in the pantheon. Read full review
80
Screen DailyWendy IdeApr 24, 2017
Not only is it an affectionate and personal film – the subject, Elsa Dorfman, is a long-standing friend and Morris’s emotional investment in her story is evident in every frame. It’s also far more informal in approach than his normal forthright technique. Read full review
80
The GuardianBenjamin LeeApr 21, 2017
It’s an endlessly charming film focused on a woman whose view of life is one to be envied. Read full review
75
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanJul 13, 2017
The most interesting parts of this conversation come when Dorf­man talks about the art of portraiture. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzJun 30, 2017
If you're interested in that period, the sheer number of notable photos shown here is reason enough to see the movie. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloJun 28, 2017
The B-Side feels a tad overextended—but it’s a pleasure to see a warm, creative, and not even remotely evasive individual in front of his camera for a change. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorJun 22, 2017
If this doc is sometimes elegiac in tone, there is nothing mournful about it. Dorfman is too much the odd-ball optimist, telling funny anecdotes – a lifelong friendship with poet Allen Ginsberg began when she was a young publishing-house secretary and he asked for some mysterious thing called “the can” – and tossing off provocative insights into the nature of photography and life. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineChuck BowenMay 30, 2017
Errol Morris films Dorfman and her work with a rapt attentiveness that maps the nostalgic and regretful stirrings of her soul. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenJul 19, 2017
The B-Side is not one of Errol Morris’ finely focused film essays; instead, you may feel a desire to “shake it like a Polaroid picture” in an effort to encourage its development. Read full review
50
The Film StageMike MazzantiJul 13, 2017
If one wishes to get a glimpse into Elsa Dorfman’s life and work, this is not a poor place to do it. But as a documentary standing on its own two feet, it stumbles. Read full review
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