62
Metascore
8 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlVillage VoiceAlan ScherstuhlIt's part caper comedy, part revenge tale, and part glorious whopper.
- 75New York PostFarran Smith NehmeNew York PostFarran Smith NehmeDirectors Matthew Pond and Kirk Marcolina wisely keep this unrepentant charmer, in her 80s during filming, on-camera, save for when they’re interviewing fascinated writers and fed-up prosecutors.
- 70The DissolveJen ChaneyThe DissolveJen ChaneyTo Pond and Marcolina’s credit, this isn’t just a character study of an ever-adventurous klepto-gran. The documentary also raises questions about whether a professional liar can ever really stop lying.
- 60Time OutJoshua RothkopfTime OutJoshua RothkopfMore shakily, Payne’s obvious pathology isn’t probed as deeply as it should be. A jaunty musical score smooths over what might have been a tougher profile about an expert liar, to self included.
- 60The New York TimesNicolas RapoldThe New York TimesNicolas RapoldThe Life & Crimes of Doris Payne has an embarrassment of riches in Ms. Payne’s story, and it’s often a ripping good yarn, but, as a film, it lacks the nimbleness and resourcefulness of its subject.
- 60VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeThe film all too eagerly allows itself to be taken in by Payne’s charms, trying to capture her human side via interviews with her two grown children, while all but ignoring the all-too-obvious cautionary aspect in favor of escapist entertainment.
- 50Slant MagazineElise NakhnikianSlant MagazineElise NakhnikianEven at 74 minutes, the documentary comes to feel arduous in its recycling of the same points and imagery, the filmmaking as plodding as its subject is polished.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeUnfocussed editing and Mark Rivett's unimaginative score contribute to a lightweight feel that is best suited to TV viewing.