Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Blood Done Sign My Name Clichéd, But Important

Simple civil rights drama splits critics

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Feb 19, 2010 2:23 PM CST

(Newser) – Critics are somewhat divided on Blood Done Sign My Name, a civil rights drama with more honesty than panache. Here’s what they’re saying:

  • From its not-exactly-deep dialogue to its “not-quite-stereotypical but not-quite-real” characters, Blood “has the look and feel of a dependable TV movie,” says Steven Rea of the Philadelphia Inquirer. But the story is so “important and instructive” that it “nonetheless deserves attention.”

  • It’s a clichéd movie, packed with “the kinds of scenes you've seen done better 100 other times,” says Kyle Smith of the New York Post. The white protagonist “shouldn’t even be in the movie,” existing only to show us that “a heinous killing supplied a useful lesson about racism to a little white kid.”
  • Ronnie Scheib of Variety calls it a “painfully old-fashioned, flatly directed exercise in passionless historical reenactment.” A politically safe, lifeless script forces the actors to “slog through their designated roles.”
  • It’s not a flashy movie, admits Roger Ebert; “Meat and potatoes, you could say,” he writes in the Chicago Sun-Times. “But it's thoughtful and moving,” a “level, unforgiving” account of a not-so-distant time.

In this film publicity image released by Paladin, Nate Parker, center, is shown in a scene from, Blood Done Sign My Name.
In this film publicity image released by Paladin, Nate Parker, center, is shown in a scene from, "Blood Done Sign My Name."   (AP Photo/Paladin)
In this film publicity image released by Paladin, Nate Parker is shown in a scene from, Blood Done Sign My Name.
In this film publicity image released by Paladin, Nate Parker is shown in a scene from, "Blood Done Sign My Name."   (AP Photo/Paladin)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
The trailer for "Blood Done Sign My Name."   (jrburgerx)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next »
My TakeCLICK BELOW TO VOTE
0%
62%
8%
8%
8%
15%
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Be the first to comment on this story.

More Newser Stories

The Vow Pure Schlock

Woman in Black Offers Old-School Thrills

The Grey a 'Lyrical' Thriller

Extremely Loud Can Be Extremely Annoying

Streep Wows as Iron Lady


NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne