Ethel
HBO | Release Date: October 18, 2012
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
68
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 12 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
2
Negative:
1

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
NewsdayVerne GayOct 16, 2012
Season 1 Review: A loving portrait of a lady--but who probably would be just as happy not to have this or any portrait at all. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyTara FowlerOct 15, 2012
Season 1 Review: This intimate biopic of a Kennedy matriarch is quite charming. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinOct 16, 2012
Season 1 Review: Ethel is a moving, highly enjoyable, thoroughly absorbing portrait. Read full review
80
Washington PostHank StueverOct 15, 2012
Season 1 Review: People who think the Kennedy cake has been overfrosted surely won't fall for it, even though the film is undeniably moving. No one in the film tells all, certainly not Ethel. Read full review
75
Boston HeraldMark A. PerigardOct 18, 2012
Season 1 Review: While often touching, it's a lightweight addition to HBO's schedule. Read full review
75
Uncle BarkyEd BarkOct 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: Even with its air-brushing and reticent title subject, Ethel is a watchable, oft-affecting film. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleDavid WiegandOct 15, 2012
Season 1 Review: You will come away from the film understanding a great deal about an extraordinary woman who played much more than just a supporting role in a significant period in our history. Perhaps more important, you will get a better sense of that historic period as well. Read full review
70
Philadelphia Daily NewsEllen GrayOct 18, 2012
Season 1 Review: Though Ethel can't possibly be construed as a tell-all, much less the work of an impartial observer, it's great that someone finally got her to talk at all. Read full review
70
PopMattersCynthia FuchsOct 18, 2012
Season 1 Review: Again and again, Ethel insists she doesn't like to "talk about" her self, doesn't like to be introspective. And so the film offers images for the rest of us to parse, public performances that may or may not reveal what we want to see. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeMark FeeneyOct 18, 2012
Season 1 Review: As it is, Kennedy buffs will enjoy Ethel enormously. Others likely will think it's about half an hour too long. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsDavid HinckleyOct 18, 2012
Season 1 Review: Ethel comes off as a lovely family heirloom, something future generations of Kennedys can cherish. For the rest of us, it's a little less compelling. Read full review
30
The New York TimesAlessandra StanleyOct 17, 2012
Season 1 Review: Ethel is tone-deaf and maddeningly incomplete. Read full review
Current TV Shows
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 92 The Pitt: Season 2
2 90 The Celebrity Traitors UK: Season 1
3 87 Hacks: Season 5
4 87 Industry: Season 4
5 87 Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal:...
6 85 The Beatles Anthology
7 85 The Traitors [UK]: Season 4
8 85 Bait: Season 1
9 84 Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!
10 83 Lord of the Flies
11 83 Riot Women: Season 1
12 83 For All Mankind: Season 5
13 81 The Muppet Show (2026)
14 80 Outlander (2014): Season 8
15 80 The Other Bennet Sister: Season 1
16 80 The Mighty Nein: Season 1
17 80 The Comeback: Season 3
18 80 The American Revolution
19 80 One Piece (2023): Season 2
20 80 Dark Winds: Season 4
SEE ALL