The Survivor
HBO | Release Date (Streaming): April 27, 2022 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
71
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
5
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzApr 27, 2022
Like its lead character, and the actor who plays him, Barry Levinson's The Survivor initially presents as familiar and comprehensible. The biographical drama then proceeds to surprise its audience, not with plot twists—we're told at the outset what the character's issues are, and have a pretty good idea of where the story is going to end up—but with how it keeps finding little ways to complicate and deepen every relationship and moment. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperApr 26, 2022
We believe every frame of this performance, whether Harry is an emaciated figure in the ring in the concentration camp, a formidable opponent as a pro fighter in America or an older man who seems to have found some measure of peace in his life, though the horrific memories will never die. Read full review
83
The PlaylistJason BaileySep 17, 2021
The Survivor is occasionally infected by the aridness of the handsome, well-made historical film — it feels old-fashioned, in both the complimentary and pejorative senses. But some of that is purposeful and even a little subversive. Read full review
80
VarietyOwen GleibermanSep 17, 2021
The Survivor is a Holocaust movie that’s fresh enough to make you laugh between the tears, the gasps of terror, the long road out of the inferno. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeSep 17, 2021
Ben Foster goes through more than one striking transformation here, changing body and soul while neither shying away from nor overdramatizing the uglier aspects of the man’s life. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerSep 18, 2021
It’s a long film, and the payoff might not be enough for some. But as a moody story about moral dilemmas and moving beyond the past, The Survivor outlasts its 129 minutes. Read full review
75
TheWrapSteve PondSep 17, 2021
The Survivor needs to be an unpleasant movie to watch, because you don’t want to simply use Nazi atrocities to advance the plot. So Levinson doles them out, makes them shock and then ties them into the postwar Haft standing in a ring and enduring merciless beatings. Read full review
72
Paste MagazineAurora AmidonApr 28, 2022
In attempting to give The Survivor a more precise aim, Levinson falls into campy flashbacks and predictable dialogue. But for a story about humanity and the good and bad of people, the film is also satisfyingly character driven, which ends up being its saving grace; beautifully strange and nuanced performances give it the direction it needed from the start. Read full review
70
The New York TimesBen KenigsbergApr 27, 2022
While Levinson is not working from his own history as in “Diner” or “Avalon,” The Survivor, partly because of its subject matter and postwar milieu, feels of a piece with those overtly personal films. Whatever its flaws, it’s powerful. Read full review
70
Screen DailyTim GriersonSep 17, 2021
There’s no shortage of familiar elements here, and yet one can’t deny the empathy Levinson brings to the material. Read full review
65
CNNBrian LowryApr 27, 2022
The underlying story is better than the movie in “The Survivor,” but that material is so harrowing as to win on what amounts to a split decision. Timed to Holocaust Remembrance Day, the film isn’t equal to the awards bait HBO has traditionally offered in the TV-movie genre, but it should inspire plenty of googling about the remarkable tale of Harry Haft. Read full review
60
Wall Street JournalJohn AndersonApr 29, 2022
There’s no glory in the pugilism of The Survivor, save for the last, exquisite shot of Haft in his Marciano fight, which is alarmingly beautiful, a catharsis for Haft and a moment of aesthetic delirium for the viewer. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawSep 17, 2021
The Survivor wins on points, a decent and honourably intended picture about one man’s ordeal in the horror of the Holocaust and the heartbreak that came afterwards. Read full review
58
ColliderRoss BonaimeApr 27, 2022
The Survivor is too frequently going through the motions of tried-and-true biopic stories that we’ve seen countless times before, or making choices that seem daring, but ultimately hold back the power of Harry’s story. Read full review
50
The Film StageMichael FrankSep 24, 2021
Levinson captures a difficulty that’s unknown for anyone other than those who lived through the atrocities of concentration camps. He allows cruelty to hiss off the screen but adds little more than the pain. Read full review
50
IndieWireDavid EhrlichSep 17, 2021
Foster’s performance is ultimately the only thing that holds The Survivor together across its three parallel timelines. Read full review
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