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Matthew Barney: No Restraint
Matthew Barney: No Restraint Image
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Metascore
59 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 9 Critics What's this?

User Score
2.8 out of 10

Generally unfavorable- based on 4 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Summary: How does artist Matthew Barney use 45,000 pounds of petroleum jelly, a factory whaling vessel and traditional Japanese rituals to create his latest art project? Barney plowed the waters off the coast of Nagasaki to film his massive endeavor, Drawing Restraint 9. The documentary Matthew Barney: No Restraint journeys to Japan with Barney and his collaborator Bjork, as the visual artist creates a "narrative sculpture" telling a fantastical love story of two characters that transform from land mammals into whales. (IFC First Take)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 9
  3. Negative: 1 out of 9
  1. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Regina Hackett
    100
    Maybe because I happen to be reading "Moby Dick" and was therefore more open to the wider world of whale metaphor, I found Chernick's view of Barney and his working entourage riveting.
  2. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Frank Scheck
    60
    While not as balanced or fully satisfying as it should be, Matthew Barney: No Restraint will fit naturally as a pairing for future theatrical and DVD exposures of Barney's controversial works.
  3. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Ken Johnson
    38
    As blandly lucid as Barney's is wildly and perplexingly imaginative.

See all 9 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 1 out of 2
  1. JamesL.
    7
    Much is revealed about the artist's method but little is revealed about the artist himself in this compelling documentary. I was confused after seeing his Cremaster Cycle at the Guggenheim; I am still confused after seeing this movie - and that is not an entirely bad thing. Go with an open mind.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. jacobf.
    2
    A hybrid of Walt Disney and Marilyn Manson... icky and banal. But it's very very trendy, and what else really matters?
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

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