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Drawing Restraint 9
Metascore
61 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 20 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 20
  3. Negative: 2 out of 20
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  1. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Bill White
    100
    While the significance of the imagery, including the slow disintegration of an immense piece of sculpted petroleum, is elusive, the strangeness of Barney's visual sense never fails to stimulate the senses.
  2. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Marc Mohan
    91
    You're either on the boat or off the boat with something like this. But for those willing to brave the open water, it's an awe-inspiring ride.
  3. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    88
    A gorgeous feature that's both passing strange and undeniably beautiful.
  4. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Andrew O'Hehir
    80
    Conveys an intense sculptural loveliness with something moving beneath it, maybe a sense of menace. And it's leavened, like once per hour, with a teeny dash of humor. This isn't nearly as immediately likable or showy as "Cremaster 3," but in a quiet way just as spectacular.
  5. New York Post
    Reviewed by: V.A. Musetto
    75
    Songbird Bjork and artist hubby Matthew Barney team up in Drawing Restraint 9, and the spectacular result is exactly what should be expected from these one-of-a-kind creative oddballs.
  6. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Keith Phipps
    75
    It's hard to shake the sense that there's less here than meets the eye, but what meets the eye burns with a rare intensity.
  7. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Carina Chocano
    70
    Ultimately, the scale of the production and the expectation built into the release don't entirely justify the effort.
  8. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Stephen Holden
    70
    The uninitiated viewer can admire it simply for the majesty of its visual poetry.
  9. Variety
    Reviewed by: Leslie Felperin
    70
    A tapestry of sensuous, striking and sometimes disturbing imagery, Drawing Restraint 9 marks the latest cinematic visit to the wacky world of experimental artist Matthew Barney.
  10. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marc Savlov
    67
    As a narrative film, it's confounding and oblique – but still gorgeous to behold.
  11. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    63
    Slow but rarely tedious.
  12. Premiere
    Reviewed by: Aaron Hillis
    63
    Looks, feels, and tastes like a more accessible evolution of "Cremaster," so try to gauge your own tolerance for indulgent eccentricity (at 135 minutes, it could stand to lose 20).
  13. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Frank Scheck
    50
    Visual artist and filmmaker Matthew Barney's follow-up to his acclaimed "Cremaster" film series continues this provocateur's penchant for outrageous imagery and numbing non-narratives.
  14. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Allison Benedikt
    50
    As visually stunning as it is, "DR9" is also more than two hours and contains, at best, 10 lines of dialogue, an ear-piercing Bjork score and no discernible plot.
  15. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Holly Willis
    50
    It's difficult to see the characters as anyone but Barney and Björk, and the film's binary system, opposing hard and soft, East and West, male and female, etc., feels clumsy and simplistic. That said, there's creepy delight in seeing American consumption carried to its logical extreme.
  16. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Ed Halter
    50
    Those who fear that the mainstream of contemporary art has become little more than an extension of fashion will find no comfort in Drawing Restraint 9, Matthew Barney's latest big-budget ejaculation of ritual self-involvement and superficial foofery.
  17. Dallas Observer
    Reviewed by: Luke Y. Thompson
    50
    Björk appears to have been a good influence on Barney: The soundtrack, which she supervised and participates in, is well worth the time for fans of experimental music. As to what the whole thing means, you're on your own.
  18. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Philip Kennicott
    50
    Sad to say, the new Matthew Barney opus, Drawing Restraint 9, made in collaboration with his main squeeze, Bjork, doesn't advance the Barney oeuvre an inch past where he left it with his massive, megalomaniacal opus known as the "Cremaster" series.
  19. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Fred Camper
    30
    The music Bjork wrote for the sound track is at least minimally accomplished, unlike Barney's staggeringly vacant direction.
  20. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Baker
    25
    Anyone who puts production gloss above performance, plot, dialogue and editing may thrill to Drawing Restraint 9.
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User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.8 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 13 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 6
  3. Negative: 4 out of 6
  1. Deniz12s
    4
    I have seen the exhibit accompanying this film, and overall I think it's a big joke about the art world and American culture. Matthew Barney is just pushing limits to see how far he can go and still be called an "Artist" while creating very little that can actually be called art, or even that he made himself. Little Bjork is into the crazy imagery, and a lot of this film was probably for the purpose of impressing her. There is some interesting commentary on the role of whale slaughter and worship of the sea in Japanese culture, but it is so lost beneath the ridiculousness of the rest of the project, that it's almost beside the point.… Full Review »
  2. PeterG.
    2
    Substantial organic talent is employed to produce this tedious and narcissistic film. I like obtuse art that is intelligently presented. This movies seems like giant egos (whale sized in fact) run amuck. I wish that some of the talented struggling artists out there had access to 1/100th the money and attention lavished on Barney. That's life on the post modern frontier.… Full Review »
  3. KendraL.
    3
    I'm tempted to say that people who enjoy this would enjoy anything Bjork or Barney did, like throw up on stage. The images are striking, and the costuming is oddly intreguing, but I think the whole thing would have been better captured from a series of successful stills, rather than two hours of pointlessness.… Full Review »
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