There are frightening moments, as when he attacks an elderly woman he thinks is possessed by devils. And revelatory, heartbreaking ones, which can make you think that maybe he is a genius, after all.Read Full Review »
88
ROLLING STONE: Peter Travers
No wonder Kurt Cobain was a fan. But it's the way Feuerzeig walks with him on the line between creativity and madness that digs this haunting and hypnotic film into your memory.Read Full Review »
83
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Owen Gleiberman
A fascinating and lovingly crafted musical documentary that nevertheless misunderstands its own subject.Read Full Review »
80
Village Voice: Jessica Winter
Jeff Feuerzeig's tremendous documentary runs on the motive force of intelligent fandom and radiates an ineffable grace.Read Full Review »
80
The New York Times: Lawrence Van Gelder
Jeff Feuerzeig, who won the best-director award at the 2005 Sundance festival, cobbles together a moving portrait of the artist as his own ghost, using a wealth of material provided by Mr. Johnston, from home movies to audiocassette diaries to dozens of original, and often heartbreakingly beautiful, songs.Read Full Review »
75
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: Roger Ebert
Watching the movie, I was reminded of the documentary "Crumb"...There is a line that sometimes runs between genius and madness, sometimes encircles them.Read Full Review »
75
Boston Globe: Ty Burr
Jeff Feuerzeig's film is as good a portrait of the artist as a beloved basket case as you'll see, but it's kept from greatness by the questions it refuses to ask itself.Read Full Review »
70
Washington Post: Desson Thomson
Devil leads us into that dark, uncharted valley where evil, genius, divine inspiration, insanity -- and other unfathomable mysteries -- commingle. It also examines the hyperbolic industry of instant celebrity and ultimately shows us the complex algebraic equation that is Daniel Johnston's life.Read Full Review »
70
Salon.com: Stephanie Zacharek
As its title suggests, the picture is something of a ballad, an ode to an elusive character who's both quintessentially human and so outlandish he almost seems unreal.Read Full Review »
50
LOS ANGELES TIMES: Kenneth Turan
A performer of formidable self-absorption, Johnston has inspired a film with the same trait, and the results are about what you might expect.Read Full Review »
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