48
Metascore
6 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 63RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyRogerEbert.comGlenn KennyThe anecdotal, multi-narrative approach is useful in personalizing the phenomenon, but the movie still brought me up short. The approach also has liabilities. I wanted more context, more history.
- 60The New York TimesBen KenigsbergThe New York TimesBen KenigsbergSpiral is best in smaller-bore moments, showing how everyday lives are affected by prejudice.
- 60VarietyOwen GleibermanVarietyOwen GleibermanThe film simply examines the prejudice that’s standing right in front of it. It’s chilling, but it’s the tip of the iceberg.
- 50Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinLos Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinThe startling spike in anti-Semitism over the last two decades is certainly a vast and vital topic for documentary exploration, but director Laura Fairrie’s Spiral proves a largely underwhelming look at an overwhelming problem.
- 40Village VoiceSimon AbramsVillage VoiceSimon AbramsFairrie’s unfocused examination of anti-Semitism illuminates little.
- 30Film Journal InternationalSimi HorwitzFilm Journal InternationalSimi HorwitzSpiral is a classic example of diffuse, all-over-the-map storytelling that avoids addressing its fraught subject in any fresh way; indeed, the core topic often disappears from the narrative altogether.