The House I Live In
Abramorama | Release Date: October 5, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
77
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
20
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottNov 30, 2012
The House I Live In is not a comfortable film to consider in any respect, but without discomfort it's hard to feel anger - and without anger, it's hard to imagine that anything will ever be done about it. Read full review
100
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonOct 18, 2012
Jarecki takes a highly original approach to create a compelling, thought-provoking look at a highly relevant and controversial topic. Read full review
100
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanOct 3, 2012
David Simon, creator of "The Wire," who argues that the targeting of minorities, fused with mandatory sentencing, has turned the war on drugs into ''a holocaust in slow motion.'' Read full review
91
Portland OregonianMarc MohanOct 25, 2012
This film could serve as a potent tool for those trying to change 40 years of public policy. Read full review
88
Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanOct 25, 2012
I've heard that one definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. By that standard, the U.S. "War on Drugs" seems crazy indeed in The House I Live In. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertOct 10, 2012
Jarecki's film makes a shattering case against the War on Drugs. Read full review
83
IndieWireEric KohnOct 4, 2012
A personal work not because the director chooses to make himself a part of the story, but rather because he implicates all of us in it. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayOct 3, 2012
The result is a movie that jumps all over the place, but with the ultimate intention of showing how the public's attitudes and assumptions about drugs have changed over the past half-century, guided by politicians and businessmen with a stake in misinformation. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawNov 25, 2012
Among Jarecki's interviewees is David Simon (author of The Wire) who is incandescent with contempt for the system. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJohn AndersonOct 4, 2012
The scope of the subject is such that when Mr. Jarecki's voiceover cuts into the narrative, imposing a personal angle on the national story, it reduces the sense of significance its creator aimed for. But that's a fairly backhanded endorsement of a very potent movie. Read full review
80
The New York TimesManohla DargisOct 4, 2012
It's easy to take issue with a documentary like The House I Live In, which tackles too much in too brief a time and glosses over complexities, yet this is also a model of the ambitious, vitalizing activist work that exists to stir the sleeping to wake. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovOct 24, 2012
The House I Live In is depressing stuff, but it sparks the fires of anger, and from that anger, possible action. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezNov 9, 2012
The House I Live In is a work of journalism, not propaganda: Jarecki has done his research and leaves it to you to decide what to make of it. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy BurrNov 1, 2012
I'm wary of implying that it's your civic duty to see The House I Live In, but - guess what - it is. And see it with someone whose views are different from your own. We're going to need everyone to help get us out of this mess. Read full review
75
Washington PostSean OConnellOct 11, 2012
Technically, The House I Live In isn't season six of "The Wire." But Eugene Jarecki's investigative documentary probing our nation's futile war on drugs is so similar in tone and intent to HBO's acclaimed series that fans of the defunct television program will want to take a look. Read full review
75
New York PostFarran Smith NehmeOct 5, 2012
The evidence Jarecki amasses against the drug wars in The House I Live In is more than strong enough to withstand any excess rhetorical zeal. Read full review
75
The PlaylistKevin JagernauthOct 4, 2012
While it's messily put together, with a sprawling and at times unfocused narrative that often gets in the way of itself, it doesn't deny the power of the facts Jarecki brings to bear on a misguided program that hasn't stopped the demand for drugs, that has disenfranchised the poor and minorities, and created an expensive prison industry. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineAndrew SchenkerOct 1, 2012
The mixture of different techniques and varied views results in a rich, multi-faceted look at one of America's most misguided policy initiatives. Read full review
70
Village VoiceMelissa AndersonOct 2, 2012
What's riveting and attention grabbing in Jarecki's recapitulations of failed policy are some of the talking heads he has assembled, including "The Wire" creator David Simon and historian Richard Lawrence Miller. Read full review
70
VarietyPeter DebrugeOct 1, 2012
A ballsy mix of interviews and editorializing that's daring enough to question a costly crackdown that has long had the public's support. Read full review
60
NPRMark JenkinsOct 5, 2012
The House I Live In shows Nannie Jeter as she hopefully watches Barack Obama's 2008 electoral victory, but doesn't analyze the current president's apparent reluctance to significantly alter anti-drug policies. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanOct 4, 2012
As is, the film is more likely to impress the choir than change many minds. Read full review
60
Time OutDavid FearOct 2, 2012
Whenever the film focuses more on Jarecki's hand-wringing than deconstructing the war itself, you wish someone would have looked the filmmaker in the eye and just said no. Read full review
58
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerOct 5, 2012
Jarecki's thesis is that law enforcement targets minority communities, but his analysis is far too simplistic. Since when did pushers become victims? Read full review
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