85
Metascore
32 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100VarietyRobert KoehlerVarietyRobert KoehlerThe concert film has never looked or sounded classier than Jonathan Demme's superbly crafted Neil Young: Heart of Gold.
- 90Film ThreatFilm ThreatThis immaculate filmmaking creates an engaging documentary that makes you forget that you're missing the energy of a live show because it's a completely cinematic experience with its own special energy.
- 90New York Magazine (Vulture)New York Magazine (Vulture)Demme is in such perfect sync with Young's music that even the painted prairie backdrop (and the painted farmhouse interior screen, complete with hearth, that slides in front of it) only makes you roll your eyes in retrospect.
- 90Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternWall Street JournalJoe MorgensternIn one sense, Neil Young: Heart of Gold is just a simple concert film -- no cutaways during the music for interviews, no cameras swooping and soaring on giant booms. But simplicity in this case also means no barrier between us and the people on stage, as they sing some of the most soul-stirring pop songs I've seen performed in a very long time.
- 88Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversThis is more than a movie, it's a privilege.
- 83Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanYoung, wizened yet valiant, his voice still braying at the moon, delivers these songs of aging and loss as if caught in a beautiful dream of what lies waiting for him on the other side.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood ReporterThis smart, aesthetically understated concert film from Jonathan Demme will transport Young's legions of baby boomer fans back to the future, as 1969 re-invents itself in 2005 for Young.
- 80The New YorkerDavid DenbyThe New YorkerDavid DenbyOne might call Neil Young: Heart of Gold soothing, even becalmed, but mellowness and ripeness, when they exist at this high level of craft, should have their season, too.
- 80Village VoiceVillage VoiceRecaps and effectively mythologizes this nugget of modern folklore in brief interviews with Young and a band of old reliables, including Spooner Oldham, Grant Boatwright, and Ben Keith.
- 80The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisAt one point, during one of his occasional verbal rambles, he (Young) says half-jokingly, half-defensively that he's got some love songs left in him. This film, which is at once a valentine from one artist to another and a valentine from a musician to his audience, is surely proof that he does.