Los Angeles Times by Kenneth Turan

What makes I Am Not Your Negro a mesmerizing cinematic experience, smart, thoughtful and disturbing, goes well beyond words.

Time Out by Joshua Rothkopf

Masterfully addressing the American racial divide, past and present, director Raoul Peck’s six-years-in-the-making documentary, I Am Not Your Negro, is a galvanizing, ominous film, thrumming with a sense of history repeating itself.

Village Voice by Odie Henderson

Readers of Baldwin’s work already know that it’s as timely and relevant today as it was when he wrote it decades ago. I Am Not Your Negro powerfully highlights this point for today.

Variety by Owen Gleiberman

Raoul Peck’s I Am Not Your Negro is the rare movie that might be called a spiritual documentary.

The Guardian by Jordan Hoffman

It is a striking work of storytelling. By assembling the scattered images and historical clips suggested by Baldwin’s writing, I Am Not Your Negro is a cinematic séance, and one of the best movies about the civil rights era ever made.

IndieWire by Eric Kohn

By the end of I Am Not Your Negro, Baldwin’s words have transcended the boundaries of their era and become timeless, functioning as both a celebration of cultural survival and a warning that the battle for its survival won’t stop anytime soon.

Boston Globe by Ty Burr

Here are great swaths of Baldwin’s prose, read by Samuel L. Jackson in a vocal impersonation that is actually a rather brilliant piece of acting — he convinces you it’s the writer you’re hearing.

Chicago Tribune by Michael Phillips

This movie isn't just a tribute to Baldwin. It's a warning bell regarding leaders who, in Baldwin's words, care only about "their safety and their profits."

St. Louis Post-Dispatch by Calvin Wilson

Brilliantly blending archival material, including clips of Baldwin on television and in public appearances, with narration by Samuel L. Jackson, Peck makes intriguing connections between the 20th century civil rights movement and the contemporary activism of Black Lives Matter.

New Orleans Times-Picayune by Mike Scott

The result is a film that is at once sobering and thoughtful -- and, yes, uncomfortable, at times. But it's a necessary uncomfortable.

The A.V. Club by Noel Murray

While the subject matter is difficult, the documentary itself is easy to watch and exciting to grapple with. Its biggest strengths are Jackson’s voice and Baldwin’s commentary, which combine to create a distinctively world-weary tone.

The Film Stage by Michael Snydel

Peck has made one of this year’s finest documentaries. At once pulsing with anger and yearning for compassion, it’s an examination of past and present America as a cycle where the backdrop has changed and particulars have remained the same.

Screen Daily by Tim Grierson

Baldwin’s insights originate from 1979, but they still speak volumes, and Peck makes their observations sting.

Screen International by Tim Grierson

Baldwin’s insights originate from 1979, but they still speak volumes, and Peck makes their observations sting.

The Hollywood Reporter by Deborah Young

It is a searing and topical indictment of racial prejudice and hatred in America that makes for uneasy viewing and is not easily forgotten.

RogerEbert.com by Matt Zoller Seitz

Baldwin's voice as a writer comes through powerfully anyway. It was wise to have Jackson read Baldwin's words plainly in his own voice, rather than attempt an impersonation.