The Killing of John Lennon
IFC Films | Release Date: January 2, 2008 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
49
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 10 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
5
Negative:
2

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Piddington does a beautiful balancing act, creating a movie that works both on the level of suspense and as a detailed factual chronicle. Read full review
70
VarietyEddie Cockrell
Anchored by a fearless, commanding lead perf by newcomer Jonas Ball as deranged assassin Mark David Chapman, The Killing of John Lennon is a harrowing, impressionistic, widescreen tour-de-force that unfolds with the propulsive urgency of a scrapbook thrown into a howling wind. Read full review
63
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
It's a "Taxi Driver"-inspired odyssey into violence and insanity that runs close to two hours -- a long time to be riding shotgun with a madman. Read full review
58
Portland OregonianMarc Mohan
The film never gets beyond Chapman's obsession with "Catcher in the Rye" and a few bits of "Taxi Driver" dialogue to show us anything we didn't already know. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterFrank Scheck
Boasts an undeniable technical proficiency and historical authenticity, but this docudrama detailing assassin Mark David Chapman's obsession, stalking and eventual murder of the beloved Beatle nonetheless has an unavoidably exploitative feel. Read full review
50
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Shot in a quasi-documentary style at the actual locations where the events took place, including the sidewalk outside the Dakota, the movie is extremely uncomfortable to watch. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesSam Adams
"Killing" never moves past a superficial understanding of its subject, whose transcribed ramblings may not be the best key to unlocking his fractured mind. The movie gets inside Chapman's head but never under his skin. Read full review
40
Film ThreatMatthew Sorrento
As the narrative lugubriously sticks to the documented events, we are served nothing more than a filmed transcript. Read full review
38
New York PostKyle Smith
An occasionally revealing glimpse inside the mind of Chapman before, during and after the assassination. Read full review
30
Village VoiceAaron Hillis
Director Andrew Piddington's fastidiously researched, dubiously suspenseful character portrait is unable to salvage a lick of hindsight from the tragedy beyond "Murderous narcissists are people, too." (He's a victim of our celebrity-fixated culture? Oh, shut up.) Read full review
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