77
Metascore
18 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100ObserverOliver JonesObserverOliver JonesFor a movie that pulses with joyful expressiveness and brims with possibility, there is a tragic undertone to Ailey.
- Like Ailey’s dances, the documentary leaves you swimming in sensation.
- 90The Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyeThe Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyeWignot handles details of the legend’s tumultuous biography with great care, honoring his talents while acknowledging the toll they took on him. But perhaps the greatest gift of this tightly conceived and beautiful doc lies in its appreciation of the divinity of dance.
- 75RogerEbert.comMonica CastilloRogerEbert.comMonica CastilloIt is an educational journey, an uncompromising look into the challenges of an artistic life, and a tribute to the man whose studio and dance company still bear his name.
- 70Film ThreatJosiah TealFilm ThreatJosiah TealFor me, the relevance outweighs my enjoyment of Ailey, but this relevance bears a massive weight. Alvin Ailey has a fantastic story, but this might be a narrative that lends itself more to a bio-pic than a detail-oriented documentary.
- 70TheWrapCarlos AguilarTheWrapCarlos AguilarCaught between exalting the glory of his titanic accomplishments and their indelible mark on Black American culture, and figuring him out with only the available pieces of his intimate puzzle, Ailey does succeed at painting him as a complex figure.
- 70VarietyOwen GleibermanVarietyOwen GleibermanAiley, directed by Jamila Wignot, doesn’t always answer the questions you expect it to. It can be a tantalizing watch, but it’s a poetic and meditative documentary that often skimps on the nuts and bolts.
- 50Slant MagazineJake ColeSlant MagazineJake ColeNot even Alvin Ailey’s peers can articulate the innovations and soulfulness of his choreography half as well as his work itself.