The Gatekeeper
Screen Media Films | Release Date: March 19, 2004 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
48
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
9
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
70
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
Has a certain stiffness and awkwardness at the start, but this deeply personal work steadily grows more powerful and eloquent, creating a tragic vision of the plight of illegal aliens that transcends its melodramatic elements. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldMarta Barber
Despite its flaws, The Gatekeeper will keep you engaged. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeJanice Page
Isn't the most seductive film ever made about border life or undocumented immigrants, but in a way it's unfair to compare it to such artistic triumphs as ''Touch of Evil,'' ''El Norte,'' ''Lone Star,'' and ''Traffic.'' Read full review
60
The New York TimesDave Kehr
Though the film is far from polished, the force of its significance to Mr. Frey, as well as the urgency of its political message, give it some genuine impact. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
John Carlos Frey's tough social drama has a slightly sensationalistic edge, but the disturbing fact is that all too much of his worthy film hews closely to the real-life experiences of undocumented immigrant workers. Read full review
60
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
The same willingness to plunge into luridness and melodrama allows The Gatekeeper to work as a taut suspense film on its shoestring budget. Read full review
50
Village VoiceJoshua Land
The DIY approach entails significant limitations, including barely TV-quality visuals and the Seagal-like stiffness of Frey's performance, but the truly hellish portrayal of the workers' post-crossing indentured servitude in a meth lab makes up for a sluggish opening act. Read full review
50
New York PostLou Lumenick
Frey's harrowing depiction of this milieu transcends the indifferent acting and contrived plot. Read full review
50
VarietyRonnie Scheib
Actor-turned-director John Carlos Frey, who also stars, knows how to push the right sentimental buttons in what ultimately amounts to a pedestrian actioner, a cliched compendium of Anglo villains and Mexican martyrs. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Suffers from Frey’s diluted multitasking. The director, writer, and star are not equally talented. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyJon Strickland
Earnest, shoestring indie that makes use of some sharp location shooting and sympathetic performances to rise above its often awkward staging and writing. Read full review
40
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Thematically the film starts off like “The Believer,” Henry Bean's 2001 drama about an anti-Semitic Jew, and winds up like “Sullivan's Travels” without the comedy. Read full review
38
Chicago TribuneRobert K. Elder
Is it a political movie? Yes. A movie with strong ideas and issues? Yes. But propaganda with its heart in the right place is still propaganda, and seldom easy to watch. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen Johnson
It's a movie you want to like, but its sometimes laughably bad execution makes that difficult. Read full review
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