64
Metascore
8 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanA memorable portrait of a true New York character, Rob Fruchtman and Rebecca Cammisa's documentary ably captures the blazing force at its center.
- 75New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoSister Helen don't take no bull.
- 70Film ThreatEric CamposFilm ThreatEric CamposSee the true story of Sister Helen and her band of weary men now.
- 70VarietyJoe LeydonVarietyJoe LeydonRiveting portrait of a straight-talking, tough-loving Benedictine nun in charge of a South Bronx home for recovering substance abusers.
- 70The A.V. ClubNathan RabinThe A.V. ClubNathan RabinAn unforgettable tribute to a remarkable life, Sister Helen is inspirational in a way a film about a more conventionally pious religious figure could never be. Travis seems to be the antithesis of a cardboard saint.
- 70The New York TimesDave KehrThe New York TimesDave KehrUsing a fly-on-the-wall camera technique that suggests the cinéma vérité documentaries of Frederick Wiseman, Ms. Cammisa and Mr. Fruchtman vividly capture the dynamic of tenderness and rage that characterizes Sister Helen's relationship with the 21 men who live under her roof.
- 60TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghTV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghThe unspoken question that underlies their struggles is whether a facility run by sheer force of personality can survive when that personality is gone; the film ends on a cautiously hopeful note.
- 40Village VoiceLaura SinagraVillage VoiceLaura SinagraPerhaps if Sister Helen had been released when filming was completed in 2000, its tough-loving Irish nun, who gives hell to male drug addicts in a Mott Haven "safe house," might have passed for endearing.