74
Metascore
16 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- “Art isn’t easy,” wrote Stephen Sondheim, and in Jody Lee Lipes’ bleak beauty of a documentary, the act of creation is a resolutely joyless one — a tedious grind with little lasting reward.
- 90Village VoiceZachary WigonVillage VoiceZachary WigonBallet 422 is more visually sumptuous than most narratives you're likely to see this year, featuring careful compositions that make watching the film an aesthetic experience as much as an intellectual one.
- 80The DissolveNoel MurrayThe DissolveNoel MurrayA documentary that’s both impressionistic and informative—admiring the magic of dance even in its formative stages, while also turning the making of art into a kind of procedural.
- 80The New York TimesA.O. ScottThe New York TimesA.O. ScottBallet 422 elegantly conveys the complex collaborations behind even a relatively modest production, and the toil and discipline that somehow deliver, for the patrons on opening night, a seamless spectacle of grace.
- 80VarietyRonnie ScheibVarietyRonnie ScheibThe documentary moves with the same fluidity that characterizes Peck’s choreography.
- 75Slant MagazineChuck BowenSlant MagazineChuck BowenJody Lee Lipes shapes the footage into an intimate symphony of poetically shaped bodies that contrast poignantly with uncertain faces.
- 75New York PostFarran Smith NehmeNew York PostFarran Smith NehmeA delightfully immersive look at how a ballet is created, Jody Lee Lipes’ documentary is a stark contrast to the psycho theatrics of something like “Black Swan.”
- 75RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyRogerEbert.comGlenn KennyThe irony of Peck’s position is, while he’s on the rise as a choreographer, as a dancer he’s in a rather more plebian position, which provides the movie with a punchline that Lipes neither overstates nor shrugs off.
- 60The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe doc's structure is a countdown to opening night, but planning goes smoothly enough that little drama accompanies that ticking clock.
- 50Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreThere’s no drama, no conflict, and apparently no one told director Jody Lee Lipes that even documentaries require some of that to be rendered watchable.