| 100 |
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Scott Tobias
If nothing else, the film puts the lie to the notion that an abortion could ever be frivolous or lightly considered. On that point, everyone in Lake Of Fire agrees, whether they acknowledge the other side or not.
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| 90 |
Variety
Leslie Felperin
An extraordinary docu achievement. Handsomely filmed on silvery 35mm and high-definition by Kaye himself, the shrewdly edited picture balances a full spectrum of views from all sides of the abortion debate without obviously taking a position itself.
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| 90 |
New York Magazine
David Edelstein
Lake of Fire centers on abortion, but Kaye understands that while dead fetuses are the hook, the agenda covers the whole life cycle.
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| 88 |
TV Guide
Ken Fox
Does find a spot closer to the middle than most.
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| 88 |
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
This is a brave, unflinching, sometimes virtually unwatchable documentary that makes such an effective case for both pro-choice and pro-life that it is impossible to determine which side the filmmaker, Tony Kaye, stands on. All you can conclude at the end is that both sides have effective advocates, but the pro-lifers also have some alarming people on their team.
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| 88 |
Boston Globe
Ty Burr
After 152 epic minutes, ‘Lake of Fire’ comes down to this: If you’re not living this woman’s life, maybe you shouldn’t tell her what to do.
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| 83 |
Portland Oregonian
Shawn Levy
The longer it goes on, the less your mind settles. You may not believe in a hell in which a lake of fire rages, but we live in a nation and at a time when many people have little lakes of fire in their heads and hearts. Kaye is determined that we never forget that truth or its price.
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| 80 |
Salon.com
Andrew O'Hehir
Highly compelling, if overlong and overwrought.
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| 80 |
Chicago Reader
J.R. Jones
You may not leave the theater having switched sides, but you'll probably respect the other side more, and that in itself would be a victory for human life.
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| 80 |
The Hollywood Reporter
John DeFore
Smart, visually appealing, and consistently engaging.
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| 80 |
Village Voice
J. Hoberman
At once monumental and ghostly.
|
| 75 |
New York Post
Kyle Smith
A great abortion documentary might leave you guessing which side of the debate the director was on. Lake of Fire is not that film, but it comes somewhat close.
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| 75 |
Entertainment Weekly
Lisa Schwarzbaum
It's impossible to watch Tony Kaye's theatrically supercharged, equal-opportunity button-pusher without experiencing a welter of emotions -- which is just what the filmmaker planned.
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| 75 |
Chicago Tribune
Michael Phillips
By the end of Lake of Fire, you know full well you’re in the presence of a deeply conflicted filmmaker, bound to make all sides uneasy, even enraged.
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| 70 |
The New York Times
Manohla Dargis
One lesson of Lake of Fire is the galvanizing power of the visual image. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words, and sometimes pictures are not enough.
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