50
Village Voice by Alan Scherstuhl
It's all shocking, of course, but it also often looks staged and performed rather than merely observed.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
67
The Film Stage by Amanda Waltz
Unlike Minervini’s previous outing, which gently unfolded through quiet, unstructured moments, the film feels far more scripted and staged, and, in effect, more shocking and exploitative.
88
Roberto Minervini's documentary is as quintessentially American a text as one could hope for in today's divided union.
80
The New York Times by Glenn Kenny
Whatever genre it belongs to, The Other Side is powerful and disturbing.
75
RogerEbert.com by Godfrey Cheshire
If it were possible to splice the DNA of William Faulkner and John Cassavetes, the resulting progeny might produce a film like Roberto Minervini’s The Other Side, an immersive, almost harrowingly naturalistic plunge into the lives of marginal Louisianans obsessed with guns, drugs and belligerent resentments.
60
The Hollywood Reporter by Jordan Mintzer
There are moments when The Other Side seems to traverse into arts-ploitation territory, and it’s ultimately hard to tell if the movie is trying to render its subjects with some humanity or otherwise if it's taking advantage of all these poor, beautiful losers.
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Kate Taylor
In the end, the power of Minervini’s pseudo-fiction gives way to a much blander version of pseudo-reality.
80
His fly on the wall approach never feels exploitative – in instances, it yields surprising empathy. In spite of his characters’ actions, Minervini miraculously captures traces of profound humanity.
70
Whereas Minervini’s previous pics seemed to radiate a warm empathy toward his subjects — perhaps merely a manifestation of his open-minded curiosity toward the extreme cultural difference he found peering into the less explored corners of Southern culture — The Other Side feels far more shocking in its portrayal.
70
Screen International by Wendy Ide
There is a compassion in this filmmaking that is markedly lacking in America’s attitude towards the people it pushes to its outer fringes.