74
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe film makes its case methodically and persuasively.
- 80Screen DailyAnthony KaufmanScreen DailyAnthony KaufmanEveryone loves a conspiracy—which is one of the reasons that A Gray State, a tantalising and fascinating real-life story, makes for compelling viewing. But it’s also supremely timely.
- 80Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlVillage VoiceAlan ScherstuhlFriends, family, and reporters offer invaluable insight in interviews, making this the somewhat rare documentary that’s actually as illuminating as good print reporting on the same case.
- 80New York Magazine (Vulture)Emily YoshidaNew York Magazine (Vulture)Emily YoshidaIt’s intermittently successful, but even in its more meandering moments it is a gripping, almost unbearably dark watch.
- 80Los Angeles TimesMichael RechtshaffenLos Angeles TimesMichael RechtshaffenA Gray State disturbingly traverses the blurred boundary between reality and performance all too inherent in today’s social media-fed climate of cultural narcissism.
- 75The PlaylistChris BarsantiThe PlaylistChris BarsantiExcepting a strangely off-key final scene, A Gray State is a compelling, highly dramatic piece of documentary filmmaking.
- 75Slant MagazineChuck BowenSlant MagazineChuck BowenErik Nelson's film straddles a fine and admirable line between lurid sensationalism and sober humanism.
- 75IndieWireDavid EhrlichIndieWireDavid EhrlichClear enough about what happened to be ambiguous about what it means, the film makes only one clean argument: Truth isn’t always stranger than fiction, but it’s often a hell of a lot sadder.
- 75RogerEbert.comGodfrey CheshireRogerEbert.comGodfrey CheshireA Gray State captures much of this in one real-life tale that’s as unsettling as it is precisely of-the-moment.
- 60The New York TimesBen KenigsbergThe New York TimesBen KenigsbergThere’s a morbid fascination inherent to documentaries like A Gray State, which is engrossing for the reasons it’s also unsatisfying: As Adam Shambour, a friend of Mr. Crowley’s, says, it’s a mystery that answers all the major questions except “Why?”