The Disappearance of Shere Hite
IFC Films | Release Date: November 17, 2023 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
83
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
17
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Washington PostAnn HornadayNov 29, 2023
As regrettable as Hite's fate was, The Disappearance of Shere Hite goes a long way toward rectifying the wrongs done to her, whether in the name of erasure, ridicule, or willful misunderstanding. Read full review
100
RogerEbert.comMonica CastilloNov 17, 2023
The Disappearance of Shere Hite feels like an epitaph and a reclamation of her legacy. Read full review
100
VarietyJessica KiangJan 30, 2023
The Disappearance of Shere Hite is an astonishing, beautifully made corrective to the cultural amnesia that has for decades surrounded Hite, the author of “The Hite Report,” a landmark 1976 survey on female sexuality, that is apparently still ranked the 30th best-selling book in history. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleNov 17, 2023
Most gratifying in Newnham’s investigation is how Hite reclaimed her own positive sense of self in exile through some key female friendships: a love goddess finding refuge with like-minded souls after a bruising battle with unenlightened, resentful mortals. Read full review
90
SlashfilmErin BradyJan 28, 2023
The Disappearance of Shere Hite, in its thoughtful compilations and equally important talking heads, should be required viewing for every self-described feminist as we strive for a more sexually-inclusive world. Without it, Hite's hopes for a truly equal world might have been for nothing. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleAlejandra MartinezNov 29, 2023
The Disappearance of Shere Hite is an illuminating, haunting, and ruminative documentary worth watching, if not for crystalizing the history of Hite’s work on film then for a look at how much and how little things have changed for women. Read full review
83
IndieWireJude DryJan 28, 2023
Voiced by executive producer Dakota Johnson, the film relies on Hite’s writing as well as many television appearances to speak for her. An engaging writer driven by her indignation at women’s oppression, she is a galvanizing narrator of her own story. She writes frankly about her emotional state. Read full review
80
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeJan 15, 2024
It’s a fascinating and enraging film and a timely reminder of the courage of members of the feminist vanguard. Read full review
80
The GuardianCath ClarkeJan 10, 2024
If this documentary doesn’t make Hite a household name among a new generation of feminists, the biopic that should really follow it certainly will. Read full review
80
The New York TimesDevika GirishNov 16, 2023
Nicole Newnham’s film recoups Hite’s story from the margins of feminist history with both style and substance, taking its cue from its subject. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinJan 30, 2023
The Disappearance of Shere Hite ponders this paradox, and while somewhat vexingly it doesn’t fully explain why or to what extent Hite “disappeared” from public view in the decades before her death in 2020, it draws a vivid portrait of a complex, fascinating woman. Read full review
80
The GuardianAdrian HortonJan 28, 2023
It persuasively makes the case that Hite, who argued that most women cannot orgasm from penetrative intercourse alone, deserves renewed recognition as a feminist trailblazer, particularly in the still-fraught arena of sexual politics, self-knowledge and liberation. Read full review
77
Paste MagazineAndrew CrumpNov 22, 2023
Maybe we know Hite only slightly better when The Disappearance of Shere Hite ends than when it starts, but because of Newnham’s rigor, we certainly understand her better. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineClayton DillardNov 14, 2023
With its determination to retrace the largely forgotten steps of a feminist trailblazer, The Disappearance of Shere Hite is an essential work of archival savvy, blending popular and academic conversations with ease and precision. Read full review
70
Little White LiesDavid JenkinsJan 12, 2024
The film is a celebration of her life and work, but for such a controversial figure it would have benefited from some dissenting voices on the panel of interviewees, or at least gone a little deeper into her homespun methodology. Read full review
70
The Daily BeastNick SchagerJun 7, 2023
Though there are times when the material could be tighter, Newnham’s latest film is a compelling celebration of the revolutionary Hite. Read full review
70
TheWrapElizabeth WeitzmanJan 30, 2023
The issue, we come to realize, isn’t that Hite disappeared — it’s that she was erased. Read full review
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