75
Metascore
7 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90VarietyMurtada ElfadlVarietyMurtada ElfadlIt lulls the audience into thinking it’s only providing historical context. Yet by the end, it reveals the myths, the distortions and the made-up fallacies that have been presented as truth for centuries. And that is the most radical thing it could have done.
- 80The GuardianEllen E JonesThe GuardianEllen E JonesThe film’s particular innovation is to privilege Black women’s perspectives on the history of American racism, and with the exception of Kendi himself, every expert commentator here is a Black woman.
- 75The Film StageEdward FrumkinThe Film StageEdward FrumkinStamped is an inspection of America’s social hierarchies and its ongoing divisions.
- 75RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoRogerEbert.comBrian TallericoStamped from the Beginning drives home Williams’ point that racism is so deeply embedded in our culture and society and that it takes this kind of fury to talk about it adequately.
- 75IndieWireChristian ZilkoIndieWireChristian ZilkoEven if Stamped from the Beginning frequently weakens its more nuanced scholarship by drifting into Kendi’s trademark good vs. evil narratives, it’s undeniably a well-intentioned film that gets many things right.
- 75Paste MagazinePaste MagazineThough it opens with a strong and colorful idea, by trying to touch on too many complex ideas at once, the final impression left by Stamped from the Beginning remains smudged and unclear.
- 70The New York TimesLisa KennedyThe New York TimesLisa KennedyIn a film brimming with visual gestures, these mini portraits of anti-racists are among its most memorable.