90
Metascore
27 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawAs with McQueen’s previously premiered Small Axe film, Lovers Rock, there is real fervour and real meaning here: it is film-making with visceral commitment and muscular storytelling.
- 95TheWrapAlonso DuraldeTheWrapAlonso DuraldeIt’s a consistently powerful ensemble, with Wright reminding us yet again that she has that indefinable something that makes a character actress a movie star.
- 91ConsequenceClint WorthingtonConsequenceClint WorthingtonMangrove elevates the oft-creaky genre of the courtroom drama with striking, evocative compositions, stunning performances, and a real sense of place.
- 90Film ThreatLorry KiktaFilm ThreatLorry KiktaThe electrifying performances, superb cinematography, and timeless subject matter make it a shoo-in for awards all over the place. Considering that it is a smaller piece of a more prominent statement makes it all the more interesting.
- 90The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyThe Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyThe drama really sparks into high gear once the trial gets under way, a shift signaled by arresting cathedral-like shots of the Old Bailey's Neo-Baroque domed ceiling accompanied by the dissonant strings of Mica Levi's sparingly used score. The transition also gives the excellent principal cast ample opportunities both for impassioned oratory and amusing disruption.
- 90VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeThis may be “television” (in the sense that Amazon will release the films via streaming), but McQueen approaches it with all the seriousness of cinema.
- 88RogerEbert.comOdie HendersonRogerEbert.comOdie HendersonMangrove becomes a full-on courtroom drama. The standard, expected beats and tropes are hit, but what happens within those elements makes the film so powerful and so rewarding. The lead actors also step up their game here, with each getting juicy dramatic moments that linger long after the credits roll.
- 80SlashfilmHoai-Tran BuiSlashfilmHoai-Tran BuiWith Mangrove, it feels like McQueen has put the story — of Black pain, Black joy, and Black triumph — back in the hands of the London West Indian community.
- 80Screen DailyFionnuala HalliganScreen DailyFionnuala HalliganEducation is everything, and Mangrove, conventional though it may be, is still a radical step on the way to societal self-examination.