77
Metascore
24 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanDavid Simon, creator of "The Wire," who argues that the targeting of minorities, fused with mandatory sentencing, has turned the war on drugs into ''a holocaust in slow motion.''
- 83The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe result is a movie that jumps all over the place, but with the ultimate intention of showing how the public's attitudes and assumptions about drugs have changed over the past half-century, guided by politicians and businessmen with a stake in misinformation.
- 80The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisIt's easy to take issue with a documentary like The House I Live In, which tackles too much in too brief a time and glosses over complexities, yet this is also a model of the ambitious, vitalizing activist work that exists to stir the sleeping to wake.
- 75Slant MagazineAndrew SchenkerSlant MagazineAndrew SchenkerThe mixture of different techniques and varied views results in a rich, multi-faceted look at one of America's most misguided policy initiatives.
- 75The PlaylistKevin JagernauthThe PlaylistKevin JagernauthWhile it's messily put together, with a sprawling and at times unfocused narrative that often gets in the way of itself, it doesn't deny the power of the facts Jarecki brings to bear on a misguided program that hasn't stopped the demand for drugs, that has disenfranchised the poor and minorities, and created an expensive prison industry.
- 70Village VoiceMelissa AndersonVillage VoiceMelissa AndersonWhat's riveting and attention grabbing in Jarecki's recapitulations of failed policy are some of the talking heads he has assembled, including "The Wire" creator David Simon and historian Richard Lawrence Miller.
- 60Time OutDavid FearTime OutDavid FearWhenever the film focuses more on Jarecki's hand-wringing than deconstructing the war itself, you wish someone would have looked the filmmaker in the eye and just said no.
- 60New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanAs is, the film is more likely to impress the choir than change many minds.