Winnie Mandela
Image Entertainment | Release Date: September 6, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
37
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
10
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperSep 6, 2013
A serviceable if sometimes overwrought biography, with solid performances and the courage to spotlight not only the heroics but the appalling misdeeds committed by the iconic Ms. Mandela. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comGodfrey CheshireSep 6, 2013
Ultimately, Winnie is a woman who seems to embody the paradoxes of her country's turbulent history. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanSep 6, 2013
Despite the marquee names and their obvious talent, the film feels like a made-for-TV movie. It’s slight and episodic, with a weirdly scrupulous ambivalence about its subject, whom it seems torn between loving and loathing. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia PuigSep 5, 2013
Winnie Mandela is a simplistic look at a complex figure. Read full review
50
Village VoiceSherilyn ConnellySep 4, 2013
A story that probably could have been told better as a miniseries, the film's main strength is its performances. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenAug 30, 2013
Winnie begins as hagiography and ends in hellish confusion. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierSep 5, 2013
Any urgency the movie has comes from co-star Terrence Howard, a firebrand of an actor who can’t be contained by a paint-by-numbers script. Read full review
40
The DissolveAisha HarrisSep 4, 2013
Director Darrell Roodt’s by-the-numbers biopic suffers from clunky dialogue and shallow characterization, all while never deciding what to make of its leading lady. Read full review
40
VarietyPeter DebrugeSep 4, 2013
Decently acted despite screenplay shortcomings. Read full review
40
Time OutAndrew SchenkerSep 3, 2013
This twist doesn’t so much probe the situation’s ambiguities as reflect the filmmaker’s uncertainty about how to properly portray a major historical figure in all her troubling complexity. Read full review
40
The GuardianEd GibbsAug 30, 2013
The source material is Anne Marie du Preez Bezdrob's biography, and the period detail is spot on. Yet Winnie: the movie opts to wear its heart openly on its sleeve, and play it absurdly safe. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyAug 30, 2013
Solid performances are undercut by lack of storytelling integrity in this plodding biopic. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineRob HumanickSep 6, 2013
The film's tonal inconsistencies speak less to the struggles of its titular subject than to its own grasp-exceeding ambitions. Read full review
33
The A.V. ClubScott MacDonaldSep 4, 2013
Poor Hudson tries to live up to both the character and the clothes, but she isn’t anywhere near assertive enough a screen presence; whenever she’s supposed to be rallying a crowd or shouting down her oppressors she looks painfully aware of her own inadequacy. Read full review
30
The New York TimesStephen HoldenSep 5, 2013
The movie plays like a made-for-television quickie. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesSheri LindenSep 5, 2013
Like many a biopic before it, Winnie Mandela shoehorns an exceptional life into the standard template of a highlights reel, lurching from one Important Moment to the next. Read full review
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