The History of Concrete
| Release Date: September 18, 2026 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
81
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 13 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
IndieWireDavid EhrlichJan 24, 2026
Between meaning and mayhem. This meandering but laser-focused essay film is, like the best episodes of Wilson’s show, sustained by parallel dramatic questions that inevitably answer each other by the end. Read full review
91
The Film StageCaleb HammondJan 24, 2026
For those willing to meet Wilson on his wavelength, The History of Concrete is a joyous ride full of his now-trademark detours and persistent, underlying sadness at both the state of New York (his first and true love) and, on a secondary scale, the world at large. Read full review
90
Screen RantGregory NussenJan 24, 2026
Wilson showed with his television series just how life-affirming it can be to just observe, and, with his triumph of a feature doc, he shows us how merely looking around can reveal entire histories. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterDaniel FienbergJan 24, 2026
I doubt any movie, especially any documentary, will make me laugh harder this year, and many of its emotional grace notes land fully. Even with my high expectations, The History of Concrete is a small triumph. Read full review
88
The Daily BeastNick SchagerJan 24, 2026
With his maiden cinematic venture, Wilson doesn’t break new ground so much as continue his idiosyncratic artistry on a larger scale. Read full review
80
ColliderRoss BonaimeJan 24, 2026
If The History of Concrete proves anything, it’s that Wilson can make a movie about anything and make it absolutely brilliant. Read full review
80
VarietyPeter DebrugeJan 24, 2026
With The History of Concrete, John Wilson takes the least interesting subject imaginable — the dull gray composite used for sidewalks, overpasses and that great big church in “The Brutalist” — and crafts what’s likely to be the most entertaining documentary of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Read full review
80
The GuardianAdrian HortonJan 24, 2026
As a standalone film, The History of Concrete is consistently laugh-out-loud funny, compelling and surprising, if 20 minutes too long. And, of course, about much more than just concrete. Read full review
80
TheWrapChase HutchinsonJan 24, 2026
Though an extension of the same tone that was experienced in his HBO series, this feature is more than just one very long episode of his show. Instead, it’s like Wilson has fully become a funnier, more frenetic version of Frederick Wiseman. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineTaylor WilliamsJan 25, 2026
The odd and poignant The History of Concrete could be seen as a show of Buddhist acceptance on John Wilson's part of art's, and by extension life's, transience. Read full review
70
Screen DailyTim GriersonJan 24, 2026
Wilson sometimes struggles to make this feature-length documentary as consistently entertaining as his old series’ half-hour episodes. But he continues to mine surprisingly emotional moments from his wryly comic approach. Read full review
70
Next Best PictureDaniel HowatJan 24, 2026
Wilson manages to weave in a nearly non-stop barrage of jokes into the 100-minute runtime, while still keeping the tone lowkey. Though the film starts to lose steam toward the end, feeling as though it might have struggled to fill the feature runtime, it never stops being funny. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Alison WillmoreJan 24, 2026
The result is scruffily endearing, though it teeters on the verge of collapse at times, as the pretense that what’s unfolding onscreen is all a serendipitous journey gets stretched to the breaking point. Read full review
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