Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets
| Release Date (Streaming): July 8, 2020 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
83
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
24
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The Observer (UK)Simran HansJan 4, 2021
The sense of the watering hole as a haven for lost souls – not to mention the threat of gentrification to civic space – couldn’t be more vérité. Read full review
100
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovJul 23, 2020
Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets is as real as it gets, a snapshot stolen from the very year everything turned to sh-t. It’s a masterpiece. Read full review
100
Los Angeles TimesMark OlsenJul 14, 2020
The most important thing is that it is genuinely great, a singular and moving glimpse of loneliness, community and finding the strength to face another day. Read full review
100
Film ThreatHunter LanierJul 14, 2020
You don’t see people like this or interactions like this in the movies unless they’re hopelessly overdone, to the point of drying out all the truth. Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets is a special movie for this reason and too many others that shouldn’t be read about but seen with your own eyes. Read full review
100
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzJul 10, 2020
Bursting with humanity, grounded in humility, and in love with the poetry of faces, Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets is a classic indie film that will irritate or mystify some viewers while inspiring evangelical fervor in others. Read full review
91
The A.V. ClubVikram MurthiJul 8, 2020
It’s a film comprised of snapshots, glimpses from a hazy evening. But the Ross Brothers understand that these are the moments that paint people in their best, most unguarded light. Read full review
91
The PlaylistChris BarsantiJan 25, 2020
By the time that the sun is up and Peggy Lee is singing “Is That All There Is?”, Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets has proven to be an impressively affecting and even slightly tragic piece about the homes away from home that provide comfort, as well as just how fleeting that comfort can feel in the bright light of day. Read full review
91
IndieWireEric KohnJan 25, 2020
Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets may not be the straight-faced documentary it looks like, but it’s a sober-eyed document of our times nonetheless. Read full review
88
LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenNov 24, 2020
Fiction, I’d argue, best captures the universal, while documentary—like journalism—details the specific. If Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets is a singular achievement, it’s in the way the movie manages to do a little bit of both. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeTy BurrJul 8, 2020
Is Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets exploitative or enabling? On the contrary, it is friendly, clear-eyed, and wise — tender about our follies and unsentimental about where they lead us. A heap see but a few know, and the Ross brothers are among the chosen few. Read full review
88
Slant MagazineCarson LundJul 7, 2020
It’s in certain characters’ trajectories that the Ross brothers locate the tragic soul of the bar. Read full review
83
TheWrapSteve PondJul 9, 2020
A carefully staged and meticulously cast presentation disguised as a cinema verité documentary, it’s confounding if you feel compelled to put a label on it but raucously moving if you take it as a day-long adventure with a group of fascinating characters. Read full review
83
The Film StageJordan RaupJan 25, 2020
This collection of lost souls and inquiry into their perspective on life results in a tale of profound authenticity and devastating heartbreak. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawDec 24, 2020
This is a fascinating slice of Americana which reminded me of 70s movie-making, like John Huston’s Fat City. I half-expected young Stacy Keach and Jeff Bridges to roll in for a few whiskies. Read full review
80
CineVueChristopher MachellJul 9, 2020
Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets’ vérité style belies a quasi-staged reality that challenges the distinction between fiction and documentary, studying the stories we tell ourselves to make sense of the world. Read full review
80
Vanity FairRichard LawsonJul 9, 2020
Its moral identity aside, this is a staggering piece of filmmaking. The Rosses have a keen command of picture and motion; their film is riveting from the jump, swiftly and totally enveloping us in the bonhomie of Michael and his bleary company. Maybe the non-reality of it all isn’t worth fretting about. Read full review
80
Rolling StoneDavid FearJul 8, 2020
So call Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets a documentary, or a docufiction, or an ecstatic-truth improvisation — just don’t let it miss last call. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinJan 26, 2020
Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets blurs the boundary between documentary and feature filmmaking, making for a playful, compelling sui generis work. Read full review
80
VoxAlissa WilkinsonJan 25, 2020
The film is a beautifully empathetic work of art. Read full review
80
Screen DailyAnthony KaufmanJan 25, 2020
The film is a unique, albeit rarefied example of hybrid cinema that reveals emotional truths through staged reality. Read full review
80
VarietyAmy NicholsonJan 25, 2020
It’s “The Bachelorette” wed to “The Iceman Cometh”: the setup is staged, but the tears are real. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsJul 9, 2020
The film’s peculiar, lingering pathos do not depend on any sort of strict genre definition. The effectiveness depends on caring about the people in the bar, waiting for last call. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Alison WillmoreJul 11, 2020
As a film, it’s warm and beautiful without being sentimental about the temporary intimacy that alcohol can provide, creating bonds that can dissolve in the daylightlike haze but are no less legitimate in the moment for it. Read full review
63
Washington PostAnn HornadayJul 7, 2020
Still, there’s no denying that the wise, funny, loving protagonists of Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets make for unforgettable company, even after the hangover has worn off. Read full review
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