78
Metascore
9 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90Film ThreatBradley GibsonFilm ThreatBradley GibsonThis is a long-overdue must-see that sets the record straight for a woman whose whole life was glossed over in favor of a more camera-ready tabloid romance.
- 88Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreVivian makes for a fascinating account of the psychological scars of a divorce, born mainly by their reserved, internalizing mother but rippling through to the daughters.
- 88RogerEbert.comPeter SobczynskiRogerEbert.comPeter SobczynskiWhile the results will obviously not come close to resonating with the public in the manner of “Walk the Line,” My Darling Vivian does an admirable job of recounting the story of a woman who was ultimately far more than just a footnote in someone else’s life.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenThe Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenA welcome corrective to the abridged and widely accepted narrative that dismisses Cash's first marriage as "troubled," My Darling Vivian relates a little-known love story, great in its own right — and immortalized in Cash's first hit, "I Walk the Line." And it offers a nuanced portrait, loving but not fawning, of a complex woman.
- 80VarietyJoe LeydonVarietyJoe LeydonDeftly illustrating the testimonies with a treasure trove of material — photos, home movies, personal correspondence — provided by the daughters, the filmmakers have fashioned a narrative that begins as a sweet fairly-tale romance, then gradually turns sour.
- Riddlehoover's greatest insight is in letting the daughters tell the story.
- 72TheWrapSteve PondTheWrapSteve PondMy Darling Vivian is an unmistakably loving and sensitive portrait, an imperfect but impassioned attempt to makes the case that the easy Johnny Cash narrative is missing an important figure, that the shadow his legend casts left at least one person in the darkness who ought not to be there.
- 70Los Angeles TimesMichael OrdoñaLos Angeles TimesMichael OrdoñaThe whole point of this illuminating and often moving film is that all of these people have a tale to tell — and one that’s not as simple as Hollywood would have it.
- 50The New York TimesKristen Yoonsoo KimThe New York TimesKristen Yoonsoo KimThe film, ultimately, still lacks Liberto’s own sense of agency.