40
When this film focuses on the work, it’s engaging.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
50
While the effort is admirable, the result is a bit unwieldy, casting too wide a net to really plumb its subject’s depths, and defanging some of Steadman’s acid wit with an overly busy, hit-and-miss aesthetic approach.
75
Narrated by Johnny Depp, a portrait emerges of an anarchic, humble spirit who now fears becoming "a visual polluter."
50
For No Good Reason is an absolute mess from start to finish, a portrait of an artist that’s almost rendered redundant by his art. And yet, for all its failings, the film is engagingly in tune with the man who inspired it.
50
Charlie Paul isn't content to let his stock footage and interviewees lead for him, driven as he is to "make something out of a frame of mind," though to needlessly busy effect.
60
Los Angeles Times by Gary Goldstein
The inventively shot and constructed documentary For No Good Reason is an absorbing look at the unique, surreal work of British cartoonist Ralph Steadman.
58
The A.V. Club by Jesse Hassenger
Early on, Steadman talks about his humor needing to have a “slightly maniacal” edge. For No Good Reason has no such thing; it’s gently informative and amusing the whole way through.
70
It's a film that paints a potent portrait of an artist of righteous, controlled fury.
60
The Hollywood Reporter by Stephen Dalton
The story is rich in juicy anecdotes and epochal events, even if the man behind these striking images remains a little too elusive throughout.
40
Time Out London by Tom Huddleston
It’s a shame, because there’s a good, solid documentary to be made about this fascinating, enormously talented, slightly self-congratulatory little man and his unmistakeable ouevre.