42
Focused on fetishizing rather than intimately depicting, director Chad Hartigan has produced a warm-hearted yarn that treats its two African-American leading men like props in his white-washed game of chess.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
80
New York Magazine (Vulture) by Bilge Ebiri
This understated, generous film quietly sneaks up on you.
70
The Hollywood Reporter by Boyd van Hoeij
Mostly lighthearted and, especially in its closing reels, rather clichéd, the character-driven film nonetheless manages to gently resist the temptation to turn into a full-throttle and heart-warming crowdpleaser.
67
Consequence of Sound by Dominick Suzanne-Mayer
At points the film simply observes the smaller, more innocuous moments of a coming-of-age story; much of it is framed in intimate medium shots and close-ups, and there’s a distinct kinship between the numerous wayward souls in its world that carries it along.
83
The climax feels a bit under-realized, but never less than genuine. More than anything else, Morris From America excels at conveying the inherent power of companionship in a largely indifferent world.
70
Screen International by Fionnuala Halligan
Markees Christmas is an appealing, sensitive find as Morris, with Robinson striking all the rights notes as his struggling father.
75
Slant Magazine by Jesse Cataldo
Chad Hartigan's film is especially perceptive about the effect of external influence on personal development.
83
A culturally specific story is being told, but the film’s familiar structure helps to add a commonality for any viewer.
80
This coming-of-age dramedy explores how the challenges of being young, black and misunderstood can be compounded in a foreign environment, but goes about it in a grounded, character-driven way that never smacks of manipulation or special pleading.