Unknown White Male
Wellspring Media | Release Date: February 24, 2006 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
65
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 26 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
8
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Chicago ReaderAndrea Gronvall
The extraordinary subject and the filmmaker's near total access make for a singular documentary. Read full review
88
New York PostKyle Smith
Veers between mystery, comedy, philosophical inquest and medical/psychological drama. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The real subject of the film is Douglas Bruce sitting on two years of memories and told there is a 95 percent chance that another 30 years may return to him. A lot of people don't want to know when they're going to die. Maybe they wouldn't want to be reborn, either. Read full review
83
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
While I don't entirely rule out the possibility that Bruce is a hoaxster, it seems more likely that his story is one of those weird scientific anomalies that more frequently turn up as an Oliver Sacks case history. Read full review
80
Dallas ObserverMelissa Levine
A fascinating documentary by Bruce's longtime friend Rupert Murray, uses footage taken by both Bruce and Murray to document Bruce's harrowing, enlightening and occasionally hilarious experience. It's a wild ride. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
There's enough drama here to fill two hours. Whether or not that happens, Rupert Murray's account represents fascinating viewing, and the richness of the subject matter more than makes up for the crudeness of some of the visual elements. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
A fascinating, somewhat frightening documentary. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneAllison Benedikt
Equally fascinating and frustrating. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy Burr
The Unknown White Male that Murray has made asks profound questions. They're just not necessarily the right ones. Read full review
70
Film ThreatStina Chyn
In terms of "narrative," the film keeps excellent pace, maintains your attention, and educates you on psychological ramifications of memory. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
Given that this retrograde memory loss has cleansed Doug Bruce's perceptions and made him an altogether more open and emotional person, Unknown White Male suggests that amnesia could be the ultimate chicken soup for the soul. Read full review
70
VarietyRobert Koehler
Bruce's efforts to retrace and recover his life after his memory loss contain all the drama and uncertainty of a fine psychological drama. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyTim Grierson
Murray honors his buddy by presenting him as a sympathetic enigma - the puzzling center of this very human suspense thriller. Read full review
70
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
Crammed with friendly, sympathetic talking heads and pretty images of a stunned-looking Mr. Bruce, then 35, relearning life (he remembers how to walk but forgot family and friends), the film comes up frustratingly short when it comes to the particulars. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
An unexpectedly emotional, continually disconcerting film. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianM. E. Russell
Intriguing, not-terribly-probing documentary. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Unknown White Male is framed as a look at the mystery of identity, but there's a bizarre neutrality to the movie, since it makes Bruce's life just as detached and remote to us as it seems to him. Read full review
67
Seattle Post-IntelligencerBill White
While a fascinating subject, Bruce is a bit of a poseur, keenly aware of how he comes across on camera. Read full review
60
EmpireDavid Parkinson
Even if Rupert Murray's film does turn out to be a hoax, there's no denying the ingenuity involved in its making. Read full review
60
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
The film as a whole has the gravitas of a really thoughtful rock video.
58
The A.V. ClubTasha Robinson
Unknown White Male has flashes of brilliance: Murray stretches out the dramatic tale of Bruce's first terrifying hours of recall, and Bruce's raw misery as he recounts those events is deeply affecting. Read full review
50
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
To call this story unbelievable is to say the very least. If it's a hoax, Bruce is a fantastic actor (but then, the movie suggests, so are we all). If not, you may wonder less about Bruce's personality than his condition. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Cushioned by money - which frees him from needing to work and allows him to fly around the world looking for his past - Bruce is attractive and well-spoken but not especially interesting, which leaves a yawning void at the story's center. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleWalter Addiego
While the film raises simple but deeply puzzling questions about memory and identity, the hit-or-miss search for answers by the subject and assorted experts, family and friends is finally unsatisfying. Read full review
50
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
Fake or not, Unknown White Male doesn't live up to its tantalizing potential. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Many are the times the viewer stares disbelievingly at the screen, furious with Murray for not asking follow-up questions or simply refusing to see the need to prove the veracity of the story. Read full review
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