38
Over and over, the film reminds us that banking on a gimmick isn’t an adequate substitute for an incisive character portrait.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
90
Film Threat by Anthony Ray Bench
There’s a darkly unique spin to it that makes the old and tired feel fresh and new. ... This film is straight up magical.
80
Out-pranking the prankster, [Berman] turns a documentary about an unpredictable subject into a meditation on what it means to make a documentary about an unpredictable subject.
70
Screen Daily by Fionnuala Halligan
A strangely-compelling, unpredictable and manipulative piece of work.
60
Los Angeles Times by Gary Goldstein
A deeper dive into Szeles’ ostensibly complex psychological makeup might have given the movie more heft, though Szeles, magician that he is, clearly remains more about the illusion than the reveal.
40
The Hollywood Reporter by John DeFore
Likely to inspire heated arguments about the ethics of nonfiction film, the diverting but not really satisfying pic makes weak lemonade from lemons that might have yielded something tastier.
91
Berman ultimately turns his incredible meta-story into an ode to documentary filmmaking. And its exhilarating stuff because you have absolutely no clue where this movie is going to take you next. Berman’s doc keeps pulling the rug from under you, and it’s a high-wire act of reinvention that rewards the viewer at every step.
40
To the extent that audiences are willing to go along with an overwrought documentary that strives to imitate what far more professionally executed podcasts have innovated in recent years ..., Berman’s stunt could turn into one of the year’s buzzier nonfiction releases.
75
Like The Amazing Johnathan’s act, it’s a funny, trippy, lively bit of sleight of hand that can often make you feel like you’re seeing something extraordinary, even if it’s just some prankster f**king with you.
50
The New York Times by Wesley Morris
Berman can’t quite juggle it all.